Rains Blamed for Area’s Slow Comeback in Housing Starts

Although a prominent title company expects Ventura County to have a busy year for home building, the county is off to a slow start because of the rainy winter.

Chicago Title & Trust Co. forecasts a 4.8% decline nationally in housing starts this year, but points to Ventura County as a bright spot, with a predicted increase of 12.5% over the same period.

Chicago Title & Trust’s John Pfister said, “The Ventura housing market is starting to right itself after being dead in the water for the past three years.” As a whole, California--the nation’s No. 2 home-building state--this year will experience a 4.6% increase over 1994 figures, he said.

Pfister ranked the Ventura County market as 77th among the 100 top 1995 housing markets in the country in terms of percentage gains. In California, Ventura County was cited along with San Diego, Riverside and San Clara counties as the leading home construction growth areas.

Meanwhile, figures posted by the Construction Industry Board in Burbank show that 57 residential building permits were issued throughout Ventura County in January, down 60% from 141 housing permits issued in January, 1994. The 1995 permits were issued for buildings valued at $14.5 million, down from $21 million a year earlier.

The poor January showing was blamed on heavy rainfall and flooding during much of the month.