California Starts Aiming for Record Low

The production of new houses in California continued to slide in November, practically assuring that the state will record its lowest number of starts ever. According to the California Industry Research Board, builders pulled just 2,540 permits in November, down 12% from October and just about the same as the number of permits issued in November a year ago. Through the first 11 months of the year, 32,558 permits were issued, a 46% decline from the same period in 2008, when 60,304 permits were issued. CBIA expects the year to end with a total of just 35,600 starts, down significantly from 60,962 permits in 2008, which previously held the record for the lowest amount of new home production. "We're on track to set another record for production this year, but it's not a record anyone is happy about," said Liz Snow, president of the California Building Industry Association. So far this year, production breaks down like this: single-family permits, down 28% and multifamily, off 66%. For November, single-family permits totaled 1,710, down 20% from October but up 18% from a year ago. Permits were issued for 830 multifamily units in the month, up 9% from October but down 74% from last November.