O.C. homebuilding nearly triple 2010 levels

August 2nd, 2011, 9:05 am
by Jeff Collins

Orange County developers resumed building homes with a vengeance this year, with apartments and some condos making up the bulk of the increase, a new building permit report shows.

The Construction Industry Research Board reported that developers received permits to build 3,434 new housing units in Orange County during the first half of 2011, up 185% from 1,206 in the first half of 2010.

That’s the highest number of new-home permits in four years.

Specifically, the report shows:
Building permits issued this year so far jumped to their highest number since 3,648 were issued in the first half of 2007.
This year also marks the first increase in new home permits in four years . Homebuilding here fell to lows of 1,208 units in 2009 and 1,206 units in 2010.
Local governments issued permits to build 1,260 single-family homes in the first half of this year, up 66% from last year.
Multi-family permits jumped a whopping 489% to 2,174 units, up from 445 units in the first half of 2010.
Despite the increase, this year’s building permits still are 35% below the 5,300 average for the first six months of the year for the past 23 years. Single-family permits are 57% below the 23-year average, while multi-family permits are down 10% from the norm.
This year’s building permits so far are down 76% from the 14,198 issued in the first half of 1988 — the peak of the past 23 years.
Single-family permits are down 83% from 1988, while multi-family permits fell 68%.

http://lansner.ocregister.com/2011/08/0 ... ls/118931/