Research Facts & Figures > Economic Forecasts & Updates > August 2008 Monthly Analysis > Construction

CONSTRUCTION PERMITS

The following tables and graphs compare the 12-month periods of August 2006 – July 2007 and August 2007 – July 2008. This method provides a year-over-year comparison and can be less volatile than the month-over-month comparison in the previous section (used to show a historic overview of all construction permit values).

In a comparison of these two twelve-month periods, the East Bay showed a decrease in construction permit values, falling 22.8 percent (over 900 million) from the previous period. The San Francisco, Napa and San Jose regions posted increases over the previous period, while the Vallejo-Fairfield region showed losses as well.

RESIDENTIAL & NON-RESIDENTIAL PERMITS

When comparing the two previous 12-month periods of August 2006 – July 2007 and August 2007 – July 2008, San Francisco was the only region to post an increase in the dollar value of residential permits issued. The steepest decline in this comparison was in the East Bay region, where residential permit values fell over 60 percent from $2.7 billion in 2007 to $1.6 billion in 2008. Non-residential permit values continued to post increases in a year-over-year comparison in all areas but the Vallejo-Fairfield region.

NON-RESIDENTIAL -- COMMERCIAL & INDUSTRIAL

In a comparison of commercial and industrial construction permits issued during the same two 12-month periods, the dollar value of commercial permits issued in the East Bay increased 25 percent when compared to the previous period. In the Napa, San Francisco and San Jose regions, commercial permit values were also higher, with the San Jose region seeing the steepest increase. Industrial permit values jumped 71.4 percent in the East Bay region, 233 percent in Vallejo-Fairfield and 131 percent in Napa. Industrial permits in San Francisco and San Jose were both down over the previous period, posting declines of 966 percent and 43 percent, respectively.

SINGLE & MULTI-FAMILY PERMITS

With the exception of an increase in mutli-family residential permits seen in the San Francisco and Napa regions, all Bay Area regions saw significant residential construction declines when compared with the previous 12-month period. The East Bay’s drop from over 4,500 single-family unit permits in the 2006-2007 period to just under 2,400 single-family permits in the 2007-2008 period was the most dramatic of the declines.

EAST BAY CONSTRUCTION

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

Alameda County continued to see non-residential permits increase between 2007 and 2008, with commercial construction contributing to the increase and industrial construction declining slightly. Commercial construction showed a small increase in Contra Costa County while an unusually low dollar value during the August 2006 – July 2007 period caused the most recent period to show dramatic growth. Residential permits in both Alameda and Contra Costa Counties continued to decrease dramatically.

The slowing of the housing market was visible in the declines in both single and multi-family construction permits issued over the past twelve months. In this comparison, multi-family construction in Alameda County was hardest hit, dropping over 55 percent when compared with the previous period.

The following charts show the number and value of single, multi-family, residential and non-residential construction permits issued in East Bay cities for the twelve-month period ending July 2008.

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