MULTIFAMILY HOME FUTURES
Permits for multifamily housing rebounded spectacularly in December, but not enough to keep 1989’s total from dipping well below the annual amounts for the preceeding three years. December’s 1,115 permits (compared to 271 the previous month) brought the 1989 total to 8,560, 28% below 1988, 44% and 43% fewer than 1987 and 1986, respectively.
Large increases in Fullerton and Mission Viejo were not enough to offset the major declines in the number of permits issued in several other cities and in the unincorporated areas. Here’s how 1988 compared to 1989 all over the county:
1988 1989 1988-’89 City Total Total Change Costa Mesa 928 114 -814 Unincorporated areas 4,409 3,822 -587 Tustin 709 134 -575 Irvine 805 487 -318 Yorba Linda 296 0 -296 Huntington Beach 544 267 -277 Santa Ana 468 196 -272 San Clemente 409 162 -247 Brea 242 22 -220 Anaheim 1,555 1,397 -158 Orange 178 92 -86 Fountain Valley 71 0 -71 Los Alamitos 75 14 -61 San Juan Capistrano 65 4 -61 Westminster 99 42 -57 Newport Beach 258 216 -42 Placentia 76 47 -29 Cypress 54 27 -27 La Habra 41 20 -21 Garden Grove 210 192 -18 Laguna Beach 15 2 -13 La Palma 0 0 No change Seal Beach 0 0 No change Villa Park 0 0 No change Stanton 7 24 +17 Buena Park 164 187 +23 Mission Viejo* 75 444 +369 Fullerton 188 612 +424 Dana Point N/A 36 -- Laguna Niguel N/A N/A -- COUNTY TOTAL 11,941 8,560 -3,381
* 1988 data includes July-December only; balance in “Unincorporated areasâ€)
N/A: Information not available
Note: For 1988, Dana Point and Laguna Niguel included in unincorporated area data; Dana Point data for 1989 includes June-December with the balance in “Unincorporated areas.â€
FIVE-COUNTY COMPARISON
The decline in issuance of multifamily housing permits hit not only Orange County in 1989, but the surrounding four counties as well. While permits were 28% off their 1988 totals here, Riverside and San Diego counties had bigger decreases. Permits were also down statewide. Here’s how the five counties compare:
% of 1989 % of 1989 1988 1989 Percentage 5-County State County Total Total Change Total Total Los Angeles 32,475 24,786 -24 51 33 Orange 11,941 8,560 -28 18 12 Riverside 5,807 3,692 -36 7 5 San Bernardino 4,419 3,754 -15 8 5 San Diego 13,803 7,795 -44 16 10 5-County Total 68,445 48,587 -29 100 65 STATE TOTAL 93,392 75,139 -20 -- 100
Source: Construction Industry Research Board
