Total Housing Starts Rise Again in February, CBIA Announces

However, single-family starts fall from the previous month

SACRAMENTO, CA – March 24, 2010 – (RealEstateRama) — Total housing starts in California continued to rise in February, but a downturn in single-family permits signaled that a housing recovery has yet to materialize and prompted industry officials to applaud lawmakers for quickly passing a new homebuyer tax credit program, the California Building Industry Association announced today.

“While we’ve had some positive momentum in new-home construction numbers recently, the decrease in single-family permits from January suggests that the housing sector is still pretty fragile,” said Liz Snow, CBIA’s President and CEO. “We applaud the Legislature for quickly passing the new homebuyer tax credit proposal which will help in continuing to stabilize the housing sector while helping to clear out inventory and put more people back to work.”

According to statistics compiled by the Construction Industry Research Board (CIRB), permits were pulled for 3,404 total housing units in February, up 41 percent from the same month a year ago and up 11 percent from January. Permits for single-family homes totaled 1,720, up 32 percent from February 2009 but down 12 percent from the previous month, while multifamily permits totaled 1,684, up 51 percent from a year ago and up 50 percent from January.

For the first two months of the year, permits were pulled for 6,481 units, up 46 percent when compared to the first two months of 2009 when 4,432 permits were issued. Single-family permits were up 43 percent while multifamily permits rose 51 percent.

Ben Bartolotto, Research Director for CIRB, said that while the numbers were up when compared to the same period last year, it should be noted that the first two months of 2009 posted the lowest monthly totals of the year.

CIRB is forecasting 52,000 total units will be built in 2010, up slightly from the record-low 36,327 permits pulled in 2009.

Snow added that the tax credit proposal will not only help provide a boost to the housing sector, but will also provide a boost to California’s overall economy.

“We’re pleased to see California lawmakers focusing on jobs and the economy,” said Snow. “With the housing industry being one of the top economic generators in our state, the new homebuyer tax credits will help put more people back to work not only in new-home construction, but in related industries that depend on a healthy housing industry. This is a great step in putting these people back to work and kick-starting our overall economy.”

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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