House Production Hits New Low for Year in California

As projected, homebuilders in the Golden State put up the fewest number of homes in a single year in 2009, erecting just 36,209 units, according to the California Industry Research Board. That's just slightly more than 3,000 starts a month for the entire state. The total number of single-family houses, apartments, condominiums and townhouses was down 44% from 2008 - and a shocking 83% compared to the 176,751 units built in 2004, the peak year in the current cycle. The previous record low was 2008. "It's been a rough couple of years for the housing industry," said Liz Snow, president of the California Building Industry Association. Builders pulled permits for 3,594 units in December, a decline of 23% compared to December 2008, but an increase of 39% from the previous month. However, Ben Bartolotto, research director for CIRB, warned that any enthusiasm for the November-to-December increase should be tempered by the fact that December numbers are often inflated because of a rush to pull permits before certain regulations and fees get increased in January. CIRB is now projecting that builders will start 52,000 units 2010, an increase from 2009 but still down from 2008 and "by no means a recovery."