California saw the third-lowest yearly housing permit total and the worst yearly total on record for single-family units in 2011, according to the California Building Industry Association (CBIA).
CBIA said a total of 47,015 permits were issued statewide last year for new homes, apartments, condominiums, and townhomes, up 5 percent from 2010 when 44,762 permits had been issued. The 2011 total still was down 28 percent from 2008, which had held the distinction of the third-lowest total on record with 64,962 permits issued. Records began being kept in 1954 with the lowest yearly total set in 2009 with 36,421 permits issued.
According to statistics compiled by the Construction Industry Research Board (CIRB), homebuilders pulled permits for a record-low 21,420 single-family homes in 2011, down 16 percent from 2010. Multifamily permits totaled 25,595, up 33 percent from the previous year.
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