Forecast Calls for Record-Low 63,400 Housing Starts; Association Urges Lawmakers to Take Quick Action on Stimulus Measures
Note to editors: A table listing housing starts by type and by metro area with forecasted units for 2009 is available here.
Housing production in California in 2009 is expected to decrease from the already record-low numbers seen in 2008, the California Building Industry Association announced today, leading CBIA officials to strengthen the call to state and federal lawmakers to enact a homebuyer tax credit in hopes of reinvigorating the housing market and the economy.
The Association is forecasting just 63,400 units will be produced in 2009, a 3 percent decrease from the record-low 65,380 units produced in 2008. In comparison, the low point of the homebuilding recession in the early 1990s was 84,656 units in 1993, while the worst year during the recession of the early 1980s was 85,656 in 1982. To meet the need for new housing generated by population growth, the state estimates builders should produce about 220,000 new homes and apartments annually.
Robert Rivinius, CBIA’s President and CEO, said the prospect of having another year of record-low housing production should be a wake-up call to policy makers to enact housing stimulus measures to reduce any further loss to the industry and the overall economy.
“The housing industry is an extremely productive economic generator when operating at normal levels, helping to create jobs and generate much-needed revenue for state and local governments,” Rivinius said. “We will continue to ask state and federal lawmakers to enact a tax credit for new homebuyers, which has proven in the past to be an effective means of revitalizing distressed housing markets.”
View the full release here.
The California Building Industry Association is a statewide trade association representing thousands of homebuilders, remodelers, subcontractors, architects, engineers, designers, and other industry professionals. More information is available on the Association's Web site, www.cbia.org.
The Construction Industry Research Board (CIRB) is a nonprofit research center established in 1974 to provide statistical information on the California building and construction industry. More information is available on the CIRB Web site, www.cirbdata.com.
Contacts:
California Building Industry Association
John Frith, 916-443-7933
Ext. 332 or 916-803-3005 (cell)
Vice President/Public Affairs
jfrith@cbia.org
or
Mike
Castillo, 916-443-7933 Ext. 346
Communications Specialist
mcastillo@cbia.org