CLIPBOARD : Multifamily Home Futures

Permits issued for the construction of multifamily homes--condos, town homes, apartments and the like--reached this year’s highest total in May, the most recent month for which information is available. In fact, the 526 permits issued was the biggest monthly figure since last November.

Despite the month’s totals, though, 1991’s year-to-date total continues to run well behind any of the previous five. The 1991 aggregate, 1,263, is 68% less than for the comparable period last year, 65% less than 1989. The years 1986-88 had even higher totals.

From the 642 fewer permits issued for construction in Irvine to the two fewer in Huntington Beach, 14 cities had lesser totals than last year, as did the county’s unincorporated areas. Just six cities are running ahead of last year, and only two of those--Anaheim and Tustin--by any significant amount.

Here’s how the cities stack up, listed from the largest decrease to the largest increase in permits issued:

Jan.-May Jan.-May 1990-’91 City 1990 1991 Difference Unincorporated areas 1,836 350 -1,486 Irvine 736 94 -642 Orange 378 0 -378 Garden Grove 248 26 -222 Cypress 71 8 -63 Brea 52 2 -50 Dana Point 46 6 -40 Buena Park 64 25 -39 Westminster 40 3 -37 Fullerton 41 17 -24 Santa Ana 22 6 -16 Stanton 14 0 -14 Newport Beach 28 18 -10 Costa Mesa 36 28 -8 Huntington Beach 44 42 -2 Fountain Valley 0 0 No change La Palma 0 0 No change Mission Viejo 0 0 No change Placentia 0 0 No change San Juan Capistrano 0 0 No change Seal Beach 0 0 No change Villa Park 0 0 No change Yorba Linda 0 0 No change La Habra 0 2 +2 Laguna Beach 0 2 +2 Los Alamitos 14 18 +4 San Clemente 12 19 +7 Tustin 37 109 +72 Anaheim 216 406 +190 Laguna Niguel * N/A 82 -- COUNTY TOTAL 3,935 1,263 -2,672

* New city for 1990 tabulations; 1990 data before July is included in “unincorporated areas” total.

N/A: Information not available

Source: Construction Industry Research Board