Housing Production Drops 8% in State

Housing production in California fell 8% in the first quarter, damped by wet weather and softening demand.

Builders acquired permits for 16,119 homes and apartments in March, up 0.6% from February and down 19.5% from a year ago, the California Building Industry Assn. said.

Permits for single-family homes were down 16% in the first three months of the year but were up 15% for multifamily construction.

A cooling housing market has affected the rate of new construction as well as employment. In March, builders hired 9,400 fewer workers, the second-biggest monthly drop in construction employees since 1995.

Annette Haddad