CLIPBOARD : Housing Construction Lags Behind 1991

Unfortunate as the situation in Orange County is for house builders, it is far from the worst in Southern California. During the first six months of the year, 3,466 permits for future home construction were issued in Orange County. The mix showed 60% of the permits were for single-family homes, the remainder for multifamily projects. The total was a 15% decline from the same period of 1991.

In contrast, both Los Angeles and San Diego counties’ 1992 six-month totals were at least 25% lower than they were for 1991. Among the six Southern California urbanized counties, only San Bernardino recorded an increase from last year’s total.

Southern California has been hit harder than the rest of the state. The entire six-county region permit total is down 17% from 1991 while the statewide number is 9% lower. However, the rest of the state--without Southern California in the picture--is at virtually the same level as last year.

Total Homes Single-Family Multifamily Total Change, County Homes Homes Homes 1991-92 Los Angeles 3,832 2,366 6,198 -26.5 Orange 2,089 1,377 3,466 -15.1 Riverside 3,991 354 4,345 -15.3 San Bernardino 3,302 397 3,699 +12.2 San Diego 2,248 1,884 4,132 -25.6 Ventura 609 376 985 -11.1 Six-county region 16,071 6,754 22,825 -17.3 STATEWIDE 40,770 10,982 51,752 -9.2

Source: Construction Industry Research Board