East Bay bucks housing trend

Housing starts declined throughout much of the state in January, but the East Bay bucked the trend, led by building of apartments and condominiums in Oakland.

East Bay multifamily housing starts increased by almost

1,100 percent in January -- rising to 362, from 31 a year earlier, according a report released Thursday by the California Building Industry Association.

Each housing start translates into building an individual apartment or condominium. The monthly report tracks building permits issued by local governments.

Other local areas showed mixed results.

The San Francisco metropolitan area, which includes San Mateo County, had 144 multifamily housing starts in January, a 14.3 percent increase from a year ago. Single-family housing starts stood at 37, a 2.8 increase from a year ago.

San Joaquin County had only 13 multifamily housing starts in January, a 56.7 percent decline from a year ago, while single- family housing starts dropped by 39.6 percent to 322.

Oakland has seen a resurgence of apartment and condo building, as developers have responded to Mayor Jerry Brown's plan to add 10,000 residents downtown.

"We've got a lot of projects going on all over town. There are a number of projects approved over the last few years that have pulled (permits) in the last nine months and are under construction," said Gary Patton, Oakland's deputy director of planning and zoning.

Joseph Perkins, president of the Home Builders Association of Northern California, said higher density building is a

c2006 ANG Newspapers. Cannot be used or repurposed without prior written permission.
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.