CONSTRUCTION'S RIVETING SURGE; PROJECTS DRIVE SECTOR UP 13.4% ACROSS STATE.Byline: Gregory J. Wilcox Staff WriterAn uptick Uptick A transaction occurring at price above its previous transaction. In order for an uptick to occur, a transaction price must be followed by an increased transaction price. in highway and heavy construction plus a surge of projects in Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, helped boost construction activity across California 13.4 percent during the first eight months of this year, an industry tracker said on Friday. The growth to $33 billion in construction is being driven in part by a 21.7 percent increase in residential activity, a pace that will likely result in about 144,000 new units being built this year, said Burbank-based Construction Industry Research Board. The residential construction includes single-family homes, condominiums and apartments. Most of the residential growth came in the seven county Southern California region, with San Diego San Diego (săn dēā`gō), city (1990 pop. 1,110,549), seat of San Diego co., S Calif., on San Diego Bay; inc. 1850. San Diego includes the unincorporated communities of La Jolla and Spring Valley. Coronado is across the bay. leading the way in total units, said Ben Bartolotto, the research board's director. Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. County also turned in a robust performance as builders pulled permits for 8,875 units, up 27.9 percent on an annual basis, during the year's first eight months. Santa Clarita Valley The Santa Clarita Valley is the valley of the Santa Clara River in Southern California. It stretches through Los Angeles County and Ventura County. Its main population center is the city of Santa Clarita. The valley was part of the 48,612-acre (19,672. led the way in Los Angeles County with 1,145 units, an annual increase of 57 percent, Bartolotto said. ``There is definitely a lot of work going on right now, though I'm not sure how long it will last,'' he said. ``It's an old story. This region took longer to recover, and in recent months there are indications that (activity) is slowing.'' While Southern California is leading the surge in residential construction across the state, the pace is still not brisk enough to satisfy demand for new housing. The California Department of Finance The California Department of Finance is located in Sacramento, California. It is responsible resource allocation for the state’s annual financial plan. As part of the executive branch of the state, it is within the fold of the governor of California's administration. housing forecast for 1999 matches that of the research boards. Bottom line: Construction increases are good news but not good enough. ``It's disappointing, to be honest with you,'' said Ted Gibson, the finance department's chief economist The Chief Economist is a single position job class having primary responsibility for the development, coordination, and production of economic and financial analysis. It is distinguished from the other economist positions by the broader scope of responsibility encompassing the . ``The state was building a quarter of a million units a year in the second half of the 1980s and we are just a long way from there now.'' The local numbers reflect Gibson's dismay. Santa Clarita Santa Clarita, city (1990 pop. 110,642), Los Angeles co., S Calif., suburb 30 mi (48 km) NW of downtown Los Angeles, on the Santa Clara River; inc. 1987. Situated in the Santa Clara valley and nearby canyons, Santa Clarita includes the former towns of Canyon Country, is expected to finish the year with about 2,600 new housing units. But that is far below the 6,750 units built there in 1987. That means homes are going to be more expensive in the future. For example, the median price in some Northern California Northern California, sometimes referred to as NorCal, is the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. The region contains the San Francisco Bay Area, the state capital, Sacramento; as well as the substantial natural beauty of the redwood forests, the northern communities is now about $400,000, he noted, because of a tight market. Meanwhile, nonresidential building is up 7.4 percent and highway and heavy construction is up 2 percent during the first eight months of the year on an annual basis. Friday's report marked only the second time this year that this sector has been in the plus column for month-to-month and year-to-date comparisons. A big reason is the influx of new federal funding due to a new federal act that is expected to generate $800 million for a variety of projects during the next few years. The research board is forecasting the heavy construction sector to bring in $7.6 billion in 1999, up 2.3 percent from 1998. This will be the first positive gain in this sector since 1995. |
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