California New-Home Construction Rebounds in March, CBIA Announces
Total number of permits increases on strength of multifamily sector
SACRAMENTO, CA – April 26, 2011 – (RealEstateRama) — Total housing starts in California, as measured by the number of building permits issued, climbed 9 percent in March on the strength of the multifamily sector, the California Building Industry Association announced today.
According to statistics compiled by the Construction Industry Research Board (CIRB), permits were pulled for 4,130 total housing units in March, up 9 percent from the same month a year ago and up 69 percent from February. Permits for single-family homes totaled 1,644, down 32 percent from March 2010 but up 28 percent from the previous month, while multifamily permits totaled 2,486, up 82 percent from a year ago and up 113 percent from February.
For the first three months of the year, permits were pulled for 9,360 total units, down 10 percent when compared to the first three months of 2010 when 10,371 permits were issued. Permits for single-family homes were down 27 percent while permits for multifamily units were up 15 percent.
Mike Winn, CBIA’s President and CEO, said it was encouraging to see an increase in permits for the first time this year after what seemed to be a slow start.
“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 Winn. “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 noted that CIRB is now 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 total of 64,962.
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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
