New home construction remains mixed bag




Total housing starts in California as measured by the number of building permits issued climbed 9 percent in March on the strength of the multi-family sector, the California Building Industry Association (CBIA) reports.

According to statistics compiled by the Construction Industry Research Board, permits were pulled for 4,130 total housing units statewide in March, up 9 percent from the same month a year ago and up 69 percent from February.

The picture wasn’t as rosy in the Ventura County statistical area where total housing starts fell from 192 in the first quarter of 2010 compared to 31 in the first quarter of this year, a drop of almost 84 percent.

Contrary to the statewidepicture, Ventura County showed more strength in new single family housing construction than in multi-family construction.

“With builders rushing to pull permits before code changes requiring fire sprinklers in all new homes took effect in January, it appears we got off to a slow start this year,” said Mike Winn, CBIA’s president and CEO.

“What it really did was take away from future demand, so we didn’t see the increased permit numbers at the beginning of the year, but it’s great to see that the modest recovery we were hoping for seems to be getting back on track.

“ As the economy slowly improves and employers begin to add more workers to their payrolls, we expect to see construction pick up as consumers begin to regain their confidence in the housing market and create a greater demand for new homes,” Winn said.

The construction research board is projecting 55,000 total permits will be pulled in 2011, up from 2010’s total of 44,925 permits, but still down from 2008’s figure of 64,962.

The CBIA is a statewide trade association representing homebuilders, architects, engineers, designers and other industry professionals.

John Loesing



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