REAL ESTATE : Building Permits for New Housing Almost Double in January

The number of building permits issued for new housing in Orange County almost doubled in January, according to the state Construction Industry Research Board. The number of permits totaled 591, up from 338 issued in January, 1993.

“It’s hard to read too much into January. I don’t want to discount the increase, but I don’t want to say it’s a turn-around,” said Ben Bartolotto, research director for the board. Because permits are an indicator of builders’ intention to start construction, they usually go up after home sales start to increase, Bartolotto said. More important, he said, is that home-building permits for last year totaled 6,409, compared to 5,943 for 1992. For all of Southern California, he said, only Orange and San Diego counties showed a year-to-year increase.