Weak Apartment Market Leads to Drop in Permits

Home builders in Orange County obtained permits for 2,273 new single-family homes and 978 apartment units during the first half of 1993, the Construction Industry Research Board reported Friday.

The 3,251 residential units represented by the permits is the lowest first-half total in at least a decade, according to the building industry-supported research organization in Burbank.

That decline, however, comes entirely from a weakened apartment market--affected by tax law changes that have stripped many builders of financial incentives to build rental units. A year earlier there were 1,340 permits issued for apartments in the first six months.

In what could be a bright spot for home builders, the number of permits issued for single-family dwellings in the county from January through June actually rose 6.4% from the same period in 1992 to make this the best first half--by a few dozen units--since the county’s single-family market began crumbling in 1989.

Local economists and builders generally agree that the recession, the collapse of the thrift industry and consumers’ fear of a worsening economy will combine to keep the county’s housing market under tight rein through this year and into 1994.