Apartments once again dominated the Los Angeles housing market in November, a trend unlikely to abate any time soon. In Los Angeles County, builders pulled 775 housing permits last month, up 84 percent from October and down one percent from November 2010, according to data compiled by the Construction Industry Research Board. Multifamily permits accounted for 609 of that total, although the vast majority stemmed from one mixed-use project in Hollywood. Only 166 single-family home permits were issued, predominately in the Santa Clarita and Antelope valleys. “Due to perceived market demand and the fact it’s much easier to obtain construction financing for apartments than for-sale product, (the Construction Industry Research Board) projects that statewide, there will be 24,500 apartments permitted this year and only 21,500 single-family homes. That would be the lowest number of single-family homes built since World War II,” Holly Schroeder, chief executive of the Los Angeles and Ventura chapter, said in statement. Apartments are becoming an increasingly attractive prospect for developers as consumers struggle to afford single-family homes due to tight finances and strict lending requirements. A large population of young adults who prefer an urban environment to a suburban ranch home is also fueling demand, experts say. According to the Building Industry Association, which issued the news release announcing the data, the number of apartment permits pulled was even larger than reported, because the November data does not include permits issued last month for a 208-unit apartment building in Glendale.
