Housing Starts Climb for Third Straight Month in March, CBIA Announces

SACRAMENTO, CA – April 26, 2010 – (RealEstateRama) — Total housing starts in California continued to climb for the third straight month in March signaling that the worst of the housing downturn may finally be over, the California Building Industry Association announced today.

“We’re off to a great start this year,” said Liz Snow, CBIA’s President and CEO. “Housing starts are up in all categories for the first quarter of the year when compared to the first quarter of last year, so we’re very optimistic that the worst of the downturn may finally be behind us.”

According to statistics compiled by the Construction Industry Research Board (CIRB), permits were pulled for 3,714 total housing units in March, up 4 percent from the same month a year ago and up 7 percent from February. Permits for single-family homes totaled 2,231, up 17 percent from March 2009 and up 24 percent from the previous month, while multifamily permits totaled 1,483, down 11 percent from a year ago and down 12 percent from February.

For the first three months of the year, permits were pulled for 10,292 units, up 29 percent when compared to the first three months of 2009 when 8,009 permits were issued. Single-family permits were up 34 percent while multifamily permits rose 22 percent.

Ben Bartolotto, Research Director for CIRB, said new housing is clearly on the upswing, though the extent that the gains are sustainable and the magnitude of the gains are uncertain. CIRB is still forecasting a modest recovery for 2010 with permits being pulled for 52,000 units.

Snow noted that the recently enacted state tax credit for homebuyers should help in sustaining the gains in construction and continue putting the housing industry, and the state’s economy, on the path to recovery.

“These numbers are a breath of fresh air, and the tax credit should help capitalize and build on this momentum,” said Snow. “We hope these numbers, coupled with increasingly positive reports from other sectors, will begin to restore Californians’ confidence in the state’s economy, creating a ripple effect that will help put our state back on the path to economic prosperity.”

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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