June 30, 2011.
SACRAMENTO – California housing production rose sharply in May and posted the highest monthly permit total for the year on the strength of the multifamily sector, the California Building Industry Association announced today.
According to statistics compiled by the Construction Industry Research Board (CIRB), permits were pulled for 4,630 total housing units in May, up 42 percent from the same month a year ago and up 28 percent from April. Permits for single-family homes totaled 1,908, down 7 percent from May 2010 and down 6 percent from the previous month, while multifamily permits totaled 2,722, up 124 percent from a year ago and up 71 percent from April.
For the first five months of the year, permits were pulled for 18,120 total units, up 6 percent when compared to the first five months of 2010 when 17,050 permits were issued. Permits for single-family homes were down 17 percent while permits for multifamily units were up 45 percent.
Mike Winn, CBIA’s President and CEO, said this was welcomed news and took note of the high number of permits issued during the month. 
“Other than December of 2010, this is the highest monthly total since December of 2008 when 4,658 permits were issued,” said Winn. “This is also the first time in 2011 that year-to-date figures have surpassed last year’s numbers over the same period, so it’s a refreshing change and we hope to see further increases.”
Winn noted that CIRB is now forecasting a total of 51,400 permits will be issued in 2011, up from 2010’s total of 44,762 permits, but still down from 2008’s total of 64,962.
“While it seems we had a great month in May, these gains are largely attributed to the multifamily sector,” said Winn. “The construction industry as a whole is still struggling, and we must continue to encourage our lawmakers to ‘do no harm’ as the industry continues to recover.”
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