CLIPBOARD : Multifamily Home Futures

The number of permits issued for the construction of new multifamily homes--apartments, condos and the like--doubled in February from the January level. February, the most recent month for which information is available, saw 115 such permits issued, a 102% increase from the previous month. That’s good news for home-builders, but is far behind the January-February totals for the five years before: 82% less than 1990; 79% behind 1989 and 1988, and even further in arrears of the golden years of 1987 and 1986.

Among the 12 cities where there were declines between this year and last, Irvine was most conspicuous. The county’s unincorporated areas had a drop of about the same size. Four cities showed gains.

Here’s how the cities rank, listed from the largest decrease to the largest increase in permits issued for the first two months of the year:

Jan.-Feb. Jan.-Feb. 1990-’91 City 1990 1991 Difference Irvine 287 0 -287 Unincorporated areas 354 68 -286 Cypress 42 0 -42 Huntington Beach 40 0 -40 Buena Park 39 0 -39 Tustin 37 5 -32 Westminster 28 3 -25 Dana Point 30 6 -24 Garden Grove 22 0 -22 Anaheim 42 22 -20 Santa Ana 16 0 -16 Stanton 14 0 -14 Newport Beach 18 8 -10 Brea 0 0 No change Costa Mesa 4 4 No change Fountain Valley 0 0 No change La Palma 0 0 No change Laguna Beach 0 0 No change Mission Viejo 0 0 No change Orange 0 0 No change Placentia 0 0 No change San Juan Capistrano 0 0 No change Seal Beach 0 0 No change Villa Park 0 0 No change Yorba Linda 0 0 No change La Habra 0 2 +2 Fullerton 3 7 +4 Los Alamitos 0 11 +11 San Clemente 0 16 +16 Laguna Niguel * N/A 20 -- COUNTY TOTAL 976 172 -804

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

N/A: Not available

Source: Construction Industry Research Board