New Home Building in CA Picks up but Comparisons Are Dicey

New-home building in California rebounded in January from a year earlier, but industry officials cautioned against calling it a recovery because the numbers for January 2009 were extremely low. "It's great to see some positive activity, but given the fact that we're comparing this month to one of the lowest months on record doesn't exactly bring a housing recovery to mind," said Liz Snow, president of the California Building Industry Association. According to the Construction Industry Research Board, permits were pulled for 2,979 units in January, an increase of 48% from the same month a year ago but down 18% from December. Permits for single-family homes totaled 1,908, up 50% from January 2009 but down 28% from the previous month, while multifamily permits totaled 1,071, up 45% from a year ago and up 11% from December. Ben Bartolotto, research director for CIRB, said the monthly decline from December to January is typical because January is usually one of the weakest months for housing starts. He also noted any enthusiasm for the year-over-year increases seen in January should be tempered with the fact that the numbers for January 2009 were extremely low. CIRB is forecasting a modest recovery for 2010, with permits being pulled for 52,000 total units, up slightly from the record-low 36,289 permits pulled in 2009.