Housing Production in State Declines in May

Housing production statewide continued to decline in May as builders pulled 21% fewer permits compared with a year earlier, a builders trade group said.

Permits were pulled for 11,576 single-family homes, 2.6% more than the previous month but down 22.4% from a year earlier. Meanwhile, permits for condominiums and apartments totaled 3,687, up 7.4% from April but off 17% from 2005, the Burbank-based Construction Industry Research Board reported.

Production was higher year- over year in Orange County for both single- and multi-family housing, the group said. But other Southern California counties experienced a decline in permits in both categories.