California Housing Production Continues Rise in November, CBIA Announces

December 22, 2011

by CBIA

Category: News || Housing & Development | No Comments

State is still on track to post third lowest yearly total on record

SACRAMENTO, CA – December 22, 2011 – (RealEstateRama) — California housing production increased for a fourth consecutive month in November but the state is still on track to end the year with the third-lowest housing starts tally on record, the California Building Industry Association announced today.

According to statistics compiled by the Construction Industry Research Board (CIRB), permits were pulled for 4,011 total housing units in November, up 21 percent from the same month a year ago and up 52 percent from October. Permits for single-family homes totaled 1,486, up 4 percent from November 2010 but down 1 percent from the previous month, while multifamily permits totaled 2,525, up 33 percent from a year ago and up 123 percent from October.

For the first eleven months of the year, permits were pulled for 41,123 total units, up 8 percent when compared to the first eleven months of 2010 when 38,074 permits were issued. Permits for single-family homes were down 12 percent while permits for multifamily units were up 36 percent.

“It’s heartening to see housing starts increase on a year-over-year basis for the fourth month in a row, but the reality of the situation hits home when you look at the overall numbers,” said Mike Winn, CBIA’s President and CEO. “We do seem to be recovering albeit at a very slow rate which is not enough to signal any meaningful impact on jobs or the economy.”

Winn noted that CIRB continues to project a total of 46,000 residential permits will be pulled during the year which would make 2011 the third-lowest year for homebuilding on record. The record-low 36,421 permit total was posted in 2009 while the second-lowest was posted in 2010 with a total of 44,762 permits being issued. CIRB began tracking permits in 1954.

“These past few years of record-low housing production have taken a massive toll on our state’s employment rate and economy,” said Winn. “Hopefully this trend of increased production over the past four months is a sign of better times to come in 2012.”

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The California Building Industry Association is a statewide trade association representing thousands of homebuilders, remodelers, subcontractors, architects, engineers, designers, and other industry professionals. More information is available on the Association’s Web site, www.cbia.org.

The Construction Industry Research Board (CIRB) is a nonprofit research center established in 1974 to provide statistical information on the California building and construction industry. More information is available on the CIRB Web site, www.cirbdata.com.

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Media Contact:

Michael Castillo
Communications Manager
(916) 443-7933 ext. 346
mcastillo (at) cbia (dot) org