REAL ESTATE

Building Permits Down: With construction of commercial properties at a near standstill in Orange County, it only follows that the issuance of building permits would be down as well. And down they are, according to third-quarter statistics released by the Construction Industry Research Board.

The slumbering hotel industry seems to have hung out signs reading, “Do not disturb until the recession is over.” During the first nine months of 1991, local governments issued permits for hotels and motels valued at a total of about $1.4 million--down 95% from the corresponding period in 1990, which saw $30.2 million in permits.

“That ($1.4 million) would only cover a very small budget motel of about 40 rooms,” remarked Donald W. Wise, hospitality properties specialist for CB Commercial Real Estate in Anaheim. “I don’t anticipate seeing a crane in the sky for a mid- to high-rise hotel for the next seven years.”

Office buildings did not fare much better: Permits were worth $116.3 million, down 32% from $172.2 million the first nine months of 1990.

Even with the huge drop-off this year, the question is: Exactly where are these $116.3 million worth of office buildings coming from?

“They’re small, two- or three-story office complexes,” answered Greg Lubushkin, a real estate partner at Price Waterhouse in Costa Mesa.

Lubushkin noted that just because a permit has been issued, there’s no guarantee the building will ever materialize.

Permits for industrial buildings in Orange County fell 34% from $51.2 million in the first nine months of 1990 to $34 million in the period this year.