ca housing starts rebound

Boosted by new condo and apartment projects in Los Angeles County, new home construction in California rebounded in February, increasing 8 percent when compared with the construction pace recorded during February 2005, the California Building Industry Association (CBIA) recently reported.

Based on the number of building permits issued, 15,571 new housing units were started throughout the state in January.

Single-family units accounted for 57.7 percent of the starts, down 14 percent from the same period one year earlier, while multifamily production was up nearly 64 percent from February 2005.

During the first two months of 2006, California housing starts totaled 27,866, a 1.4 percent decrease compared with the same period one year earlier.

"The permit count for the first two months of 2006 is virtually the same as the first two months of 2005. The key difference is that the number of multifamily units permitted is well ahead of last year, while single-family starts are down.

The majority of the multifamily gain is in the Los Angeles area and is a result of the startup of numerous new rental and condominium projects in downtown Los Angeles," said CBIA Chief Economist Alan Nevin.

**taken from the california association of realtors bulletin, dated 4/13/06**