CLIPBOARD : Single-Family Home Futures

The home-building slump in Orange County may be abating. In March, the most recent month for which information is available, there were 403 permits for single-family houses issued, the largest monthly total for such building since last September. That was also twice the amount (198) issued in February.

Even with those totals, however, 1991 still lags far behind 1990, a slump-ridden year in itself, on a year-to-date basis. During the first three months of 1991 there were 673 permits issued for single-family homes, compared to 1,052 in 1990. That’s a 35% decrease. It compares even less favorably to the 1986-’89 period.

In absolute numbers, the county’s unincorporated areas plus the cities of Yorba Linda and San Clemente showed the largest three-month declines compared to last year. Cypress led the cities --there were only five--in which there were gains. It increased 57 permits from 1990.

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

Jan.-March Jan.-March 1990-’91 City 1990 1991 Difference Unincorporated areas 475 243 -232 Yorba Linda 107 6 -101 San Clemente 75 6 -69 Anaheim 68 30 -38 Dana Point 36 3 -33 Brea 32 0 -32 Santa Ana 34 3 -31 San Juan Capistrano 28 3 -25 Orange 39 20 -19 Placentia 18 1 -17 Irvine 24 8 -16 Newport Beach 26 12 -14 Laguna Beach 17 6 -11 Huntington Beach 19 11 -8 Tustin 10 4 -6 Stanton 4 0 -4 Fullerton 6 3 -3 Garden Grove 2 0 -2 Villa Park 2 0 -2 Fountain Valley 1 0 -1 La Palma 1 0 -1 Los Alamitos 0 0 No change Seal Beach 0 0 No change Westminster 0 0 No change La Habra 1 4 +3 Mission Viejo 10 20 +10 Costa Mesa 14 33 +19 Buena Park 2 29 +27 Cypress 1 58 +57 Laguna Niguel * N/A 170 -- COUNTY TOTAL 1,052 673 -379

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

Source: Construction Industry Research Board