Home Building Permits Down in Several Areas in Arizona and California
The number of permits issued for home construction in some areas in Arizona and California has declined significantly for three consecutive quarters of this year.
From January to September this year, the city of Tucson in Arizona reported a 39 percent decline in home building permits, compared with figures for the same period the previous year.
The Southern Arizona Home Builders Association (SAHBA) reported that the biggest decline for three consecutive quarters of this year occurred in Marana where 215 permits were issued until September, representing a 55 percent drop compared with the number of issuance in 2007.
In terms of year-over-year issuance, house construction permits in Tucson declined by 52 percent. In Pima County, permit issuance declined by 44 percent, 33 percent in southern Pinal County, 24 percent in Oro Valley and 6 percent in Sahuarita.
According to SAHBA, 4,223 jobs in the construction industry in Tucson were eliminated in September of this year.
Meanwhile, in California, an estimated 19 houses were being constructed in Huntington Beach from January to October 2008.
According to the Construction Industry Research Board, the number of homes being constructed has not changed since it was reported in September. This represent a 45 percent decline in building permits issued for three consecutive quarters of the previous year.
For 2008, Tustin had reported 152 building permit issuances for single family houses, the biggest among the cities and towns in California.
However, no building construction permits were issued for single family houses in some cities in Orange County, including Laguna Woods, Mission Viejo, Rancho Santa Margarita and Lake Forest.
On the other hand, only one permit each was issued in Villa Park and Brea.
For three consecutive quarters this year, 1,186 permits were issued in Orange County for single-family home construction, compared with the previous year figure of 1,906. According to permit figures, building homes in Orange County reached its lowest level this year since World War II.
