DQNews Archived Article

California construction up

by Real Estate Analyst John Karevoll
April, 1997

La Jolla, CA.— Building activity in California reached its highest level in six years during the first three months of this year, a real estate information service reported.

Financing for construction projects totaled $2.22 billion during the first quarter. That was up 18.1 percent from $1.88 billion for last year's first quarter, and was the strongest first quarter since 1991's $2.23, according to DataQuick Information Systems.

The low of recent years was reached in first-quarter 1993 at $1.39 billion. Last quarter's year-over-year increase was the sixth in a row.

"These numbers represent steady but not spectacular growth in the building sector. The fundamentals are there, and we expect construction activity to continue to grow through the end of the year and well into 1998," said Michael T. Ela, DataQuick president.

DataQuick monitors real estate activity nationwide and provides information to lending institutions, title companies and industry analysts. The numbers include all construction loans, commercial as well as residential. A construction loan is typically recorded a few days before construction actually begins.

All regions saw growth in the building sector. This includes the Central Valley which has been lagging the rest of the state in real estate-related economic growth. Orange County saw the strongest growth of California's major counties, going up 69.8 percent from $172 million for first-quarter 1996 to $291 million last quarter.

Source: DataQuick Information Systems

Media Inquiries: John Karevoll (909)867-9534

Copyright © 1997 DataQuick Information Systems.
All rights reserved.

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