CALIFORNIA HOUSING STARTS DROP

New home construction in California declined during August 2006, falling 25.3 percent when compared with the construction pace recorded one year earlier, the California Building Industry Association (CBIA) recently reported. Based on the number of building permits issued, 13,128 new housing units were started throughout the state in August, with single-family units accounting for 59 percent of the starts. While multifamily permits are up 8.3 percent for the first eight months of the year, single-family permits are down 24.7 percent. “Multifamily production continues to rise, with particularly strong activity in Los Angeles, Orange County, and the San Francisco Bay Area — much of it related to vertical construction in the urban core,” said CBIA Chief Economist Alan Nevin. Search all San Diego MLS listings