CLIPBOARD : Single-Family Home Futures

The month of April didn’t exactly bring showers of home-building permits, but neither did the total drop behind March. The 418 permits issued for single-family homes in April, the latest month for which information is available, was about the same as the previous month’s total, 415.

The four-month total of 1,103, however, is the lowest for any of the last six years. The second-lowest total during the 1986-91 period, 1,353 last year, was 18% higher than the current figure.

Compared to 1990’s four-month total, 15 cities and the unincorporated areas issued fewer permits this year. The unincorporated areas, Yorba Linda and San Clemente, declined most noticeably. Nine cities recorded comparative increases, led by San Juan Capistrano and Cypress.

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

Jan.-April Jan.-April 1990-’91 City 1990 1991 Difference Unincorporated areas 672 321 -351 Yorba Linda 114 42 -72 San Clemente 76 7 -69 Brea 34 0 -34 Dana Point 39 5 -34 Santa Ana 34 4 -30 Newport Beach 42 16 -26 Orange 41 24 -17 Irvine 24 8 -16 Costa Mesa 48 41 -7 Laguna Beach 20 14 -6 Villa Park 6 0 -6 Fullerton 7 3 -4 Stanton 4 0 -4 Fountain Valley 3 1 -2 Garden Grove 2 0 -2 La Palma 1 1 No change Los Alamitos 0 0 No change Seal Beach 3 3 No change Westminster 0 0 No change Huntington Beach 23 24 +1 La Habra 1 6 +5 Tustin 10 16 +6 Placentia 18 25 +7 Anaheim 84 92 +8 Mission Viejo 10 31 +21 Buena Park 4 29 +25 Cypress 3 81 +78 San Juan Capistrano 30 108 +78 Laguna Niguel * N/A 201 -- COUNTY TOTAL 1,353 1,103 -250

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

N/A: Information not available

Source: Construction Industry Research Board