New home construction down
| Tuesday, Mar 24 2009 04:29 PM
Last Updated Monday, Mar 30 2009 04:23 PM
New home construction in Kern and California declined last month, the California Building Industry Association reported Tuesday, but homebuilders remained optimistic as state and federal tax credits have increased traffic at sales offices.
In Kern, permit activity declined 47 percent, with 76 permits for single-family homes pulled last month compared to 144 in February 2008.
The number was also a slight decline from January’s tally of 84.
Statewide, the year-over-year decline was 50 percent, with 1,261 permits pulled last month for single-family homes. Counting multi-family units, the drop was 66 percent.
A $10,000 state tax credit for buyers of new homes and an $8,000 federal credit for first-time homebuyers were recently enacted to help boost the market.
