California Housing Production Continues Decline in October, CBIA Announces

SACRAMENTO, CA – November 23, 2010 – (RealEstateRama) — Having fallen in September after four straight months of gains, total housing production in California continued to decrease in October, the California Building Industry Association announced today.

According to statistics compiled by the Construction Industry Research Board (CIRB), permits were pulled for 2,108 total housing units in October, down 28 percent from the same month a year ago and down 28 percent from September. Permits for single-family homes totaled 1,364, down 37 percent from October 2009 and down 21 percent from the previous month, while multifamily permits totaled 744, down 3 percent from a year ago and down 39 percent from September.

For the first ten months of the year, permits were pulled for 34,508 units, up 14 percent when compared to the same period in 2009 when 30,194 permits were issued. Permits for single-family homes fell behind last year’s pace for the first time this year, down 2 percent when compared to the first ten months of 2009, while multifamily permits were up 52 percent.

Liz Snow, CBIA’s President and CEO, said the numbers were disappointing and noted that the state is on track to see the second-lowest number of housing starts since records began being kept in 1954.

“While it’s good that we’re still above last year’s production levels, it was disappointing to see single-family production fall behind last year’s pace,” said Snow. “Continued weakness in the job market, high foreclosure rates, and tighter lending standards making it difficult for builders to get projects off the ground are creating the ‘perfect storm’ to deter new-home construction, putting us on track to see the second-lowest year of housing production on record. Until we see improvement in these areas, homebuilding, and the economy, will continue to struggle.”

Snow noted that CIRB has revised its housing forecast downward from 45,000 to 41,700 total units in 2010, slightly more than the record-low 36,421 units produced in 2009. CIRB has also revised its forecast for 2011 to 67,500 total units, down from 74,000 units projected last month.

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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.

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