California Builders End Year on Down Note

California's homebuilding business ended 2009 in rather lackluster fashion, according to the latest sales data from the California Building Industry Association and Hanley Wood Market Intelligence. Sales in projects of 10 or more units in December were 15% below what they were a year earlier. Still, that's an improvement over most months in 2009, which recorded substantially larger year-to-year declines. In December, just 1,372 new houses and apartments were sold in the statewide subdivisions tracked by the Costa Mesa-based HWMI. December 2008 wasn't a particular good month either, when just 1,607 units were sold throughout the entire state. "December's figures represent a bit of a step back," said Jonathan Dienhart, director of published research at HWMI, who laid part of the blame on the extended federal tax credit removing a sense of urgency for consumers considering a home purchase. Mr. Dienhart also said the Golden State's "faces a long uphill climb" to return even to normal.