CLIPBOARD : Single-Family Home Futures

New permits for single-family home construction reached their highest level in four months during February, the most recent month for which information is available. The 198 permits issued for such homes was the highest since the 292 issued last October.

The total for the first two months of the year, however, is far below the amounts for the comparable period during any of the last five years. This year 270 permits were issued during the January/February period, 68% in arrears of 1990 and even further behind the four years before that.

Seventeen cities and the unincorporated areas recorded lower totals compared to 1990, with the largest discrepancy occurring in the latter. So far this year, there have been fewer than 100 permits issued for new single-family homes in the unincorporated areas.

However, seven cities registered gains, with Cypress and Buena Park leading the way. Four other cities had no change from last year.

Here’s how the cities stack up, listed from the largest decrease to the largest increase in permits issued:

Jan.-Feb. Jan.-Feb. 1990-’91 City 1990 1991 Difference Unincorporated areas 442 77 -365 Yorba Linda 96 6 -90 San Clemente 64 4 -60 Anaheim 64 11 -53 Orange 36 2 -34 Santa Ana 34 2 -32 Dana Point 30 1 -29 San Juan Capistrano 14 1 -13 Newport Beach 18 7 -11 Laguna Beach 12 5 -7 Mission Viejo 10 5 -5 Stanton 4 0 -4 Huntington Beach 9 6 -3 Brea 2 0 -2 Fullerton 4 2 -2 Garden Grove 2 0 -2 La Palma 1 0 -1 Villa Park 1 0 -1 Fountain Valley 0 0 No change Los Alamitos 0 0 No change Seal Beach 0 0 No change Westminster 0 0 No change La Habra 1 2 +1 Placentia 0 1 +1 Tustin 0 4 +4 Irvine 0 7 +7 Costa Mesa 5 17 +12 Buena Park 1 29 +28 Cypress 0 35 +35 Laguna Niguel * NA 46 -- COUNTY TOTAL 850 270 -580

* New city for 1990; 1990 data before July is included in “unincorporated areas” total.

NA: Not available

Source: Construction Industry Research Board