February 2008 Monthly Analysis > Construction

CONSTRUCTION PERMITS

The following two charts of residential and non-residential permit values issued in each of the Bay Area's regions since November 2004 provide a quick, comparative view of activity.

Between October and November 2007, changes in the dollar value of residential construction permits issued in Bay Area regions were minimal. The East Bay saw a decline of $15 million while the San Jose and Napa areas also saw declines of $21 million and $10 million, respectively. San Francisco and Vallejo posted increases of $13 and $22 million, respectively.

The East Bay was the only Bay Area region to post month-over- month losses in non-residential permit values in November, declining $43 million since October 2007. San Francisco had the largest month-over-month increase, rising $83 million over October 2007. With the exception of the San Jose region, which showed year-over-year increase of over $100 million, non- residential permit values saw moderate increases in all other Bay Area regions.  

12-MONTH ANALYSIS OF CONSTRUCTION PERMITS

 The following tables and graphs compare the twelve-month periods of December 2005 - November 2006 and December 2006 - November 2007. This method provides a year-over-year comparison and can be less volatile than the month-over-month comparison in the previous section, which is used to show a historic overview of construction permit values.

In a comparison of these two twelve- month periods, the East Bay showed the largest percentage decrease in construction permit values, dropping 16.6 percent from the previous period. The Napa MSA was the only region to see an increase in the double-digits, with 53.1 percent growth over the previous period.

RESIDENTIAL & NON-RESIDENTIAL PERMITS

RESIDENTIAL

When comparing the two previous twelve-month periods of December 2005 - November 2006 and December 2006 - November 2007, the San Francisco region was the only MSA to see an increase in the dollar value of residential permits issued. The steepest decline in this comparison of residential permit values was in the East Bay region. Total non-residential (commercial, industrial and institutional) permit values increased around the Bay Area, with the largest increase in the San Jose region.

NON-RESIDENTIAL -- COMMERCIAL & INDUSTRIAL

When comparing the two previous twelve-month periods of December 2005 - November 2006 and December 2006 - November 2007, the San Francisco region was the only MSA to see an increase in the dollar value of residential permits issued. The steepest decline in this comparison of residential permit values was in the East Bay region. Total non-residential (commercial, industrial and institutional) permit values increased around the Bay Area, with the largest increase in the San Jose region.

SINGLE & MULTI-FAMILY PERMITS

When comparing the same two twelve-month periods, the small increase of 131 single- family residential construction permits that took place in the San Francisco region was the only increase in housing permits, single- family or multi-family. Both single and multi-family residential construction have slowed considerably throughout a majority of Bay Area regions.around the Bay Area, with the largest increase in the San Jose

SINGLE & MULTI-FAMILY PERMITS

The following tables examine these permit categories for the same comparative time periods for Alameda and Contra Costa Counties.

When compared with the twelve-month period ending in 2006, Alameda County continued to see industrial permit values rise significantly, while residential and commercial permit values decreased. In the same comparison, Contra Costa County residential and industrial permit values declined, commercial permits advanced 46 percent over the previous period, helping the non-residential category increase 14 percent.

The slowing of the housing market continued to be visible in the declines in both single and multi-family construction permits issued over the past twelve months. When compared with the previous twelve-month period, multi-family unit permits showed the steepest declines in both counties.

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