California Homebuilding Foundation, BIASC Reach Agreement to Continue Construction Industry Data Service

Note to Editors: BIASC is sending out this press release on behalf of the California Homebuilding Foundation.

Media contact: John Frith, BIASC. 949-553-9500, ext 125 | jfrith@biasc.org

CIRB data subscription contact: Terri Brunson, CHF. 916-340-3340 | tbrunson@mychf.org

May 7, 2012 - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SACRAMENTO – The California Homebuilding Foundation announced today that it has reached an agreement with the Building Industry Association of Southern California to take over the statewide construction permit data collection and reporting functions formerly performed by BIASC’s Construction Industry Research Board.

Reports for February and March will soon be released to subscribers and future monthly data will be compiled and published by CHF in a timely manner.

In making the announcement, CHF Executive Director Terri Brunson said it is essential that the data on residential and commercial construction continue being collected and disseminated to a wide range of subscribers, including government agencies, companies, researchers and the news media.

“CIRB houses data about construction trends that go back to 1954 and it is by far the most authoritative source of information about residential and commercial construction in California,” Brunson said. “Many organizations rely heavily on this information and we are excited that we can step in and take over its operations. We are also working on plans that will allow us to make the data even more useful to our subscribers in the future.”

The Research Board was formed in 1974 and has been operated by BIASC since 2007. Earlier this year, BIASC decided to spin off CIRB and discussed transferring its operations to a number of organizations before reaching an agreement with CHF.

“As a non-profit educational and research organization with close ties to our state-level affiliate, the California Building Industry Association, CHF is ideally positioned to continue and even improve upon the collection, analysis and reporting of building permit and public contract data,” said David W. Shepherd, BIASC’s Chief Executive Officer. “We know that CHF will do a great job and are pleased that we were able to keep this vital service alive within the BIA family.”   

The most widely used data collected by CIRB is California building permit information, which is collected monthly from more than 525 California cities and counties.  But CIRB also has been the only source of comprehensive data on private, nonresidential building permits since the Census Bureau stopped collecting such information in 1996.

CIRB’s Burbank office will close and CHF will operate the service from its office in Sacramento.

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The California Homebuilding Foundation (CHF) is the research and education center for California’s homebuilding and construction industries. Founded in 1978 through the California Building Industry Association (CBIA), the Foundation serves the industry by providing scholarships, funding research and conducting educational and professional development programs. The Foundation also is responsible for the Building Industry Hall of Fame. Learn more by visiting www.mychf.org.

The Building Industry Association of Southern California, Inc., is a non-profit trade association representing nearly 1,000 member companies in the housing industry, construction trades, and affiliated businesses throughout Southern California. Along with its four chapters – Los Angeles/Ventura, Orange County, Riverside County and Baldy View – it advocates on behalf of the homebuilding industry throughout Los Angeles, Ventura, southeast Kern, Orange, Riverside, Imperial and San Bernardino counties. Visit its Website at www.biasc.org.

BIASC Names David Shepherd New CEO

IRVINE – Southern California’s largest homebuilding trade association has named veteran planning and government affairs professional David W. Shepherd as its new CEO. Shepherd, 46, will begin his duties with the Building Industry Association of Southern California on April 2.

In making the announcement, BIASC President Bob Yoder said Shepherd brings a wide range of experience to the post.

"Dave has a strong commitment to our industry and possesses a rare combination of experience that we believe make him the ideal candidate to lead our Association in the years to come," said Yoder, who also is a Division President for Shea Homes.

“He understands our industry, has been a volunteer leader with the BIA and has an extensive background in government. These experiences will serve him well at BIASC and I look forward to working closely with him to help our region’s homebuilding industry continue to rebound from its worst crisis since World War II.”

Currently, Shepherd is Manager of Land Use Planning for Orange County, where he was responsible for planning for major developments as well as regional coordination with other jurisdictions.

Prior to that, he was a consultant for government agencies on development policy matters and Director of Forward Planning and Government Affairs for KB Home’s Coastal Division. While working for KB, he served in several leadership roles for the BIA, including Vice President for Public Affairs for BIASC’s Riverside County Chapter.

Earlier in his career, he directed intergovernmental and legislative affairs for the Riverside County Transportation Commission and San Bernardino Associated Governments and before that worked for two state legislators.

Shepherd said he was excited to return to the homebuilding industry.

“I look forward to working with our Board, staff, members, and regional and local governments to promote homebuilding, and assist Southern California’s economic recovery,” Shepherd noted.  “Building homes and apartments creates jobs, boosts the economy and provides cities and counties with much-needed revenues.”

He earned a master’s degree in public policy administration from Columbia University and a bachelor’s degree in political science and public service from the University of California, Davis. He and his wife, Karen, have three children – Riley, Kyle and Abbey – and live in Oceanside.

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BIASC is a non-profit trade association representing nearly 1,000 member companies in the housing industry, construction trades, and affiliated businesses throughout Southern California. Along with its four chapters – Los Angeles/Ventura, Orange County, Riverside County and Baldy View – it advocates on behalf of the homebuilding industry throughout Los Angeles, Ventura, southeast Kern, Orange, Riverside, Imperial and San Bernardino counties.Visit our Website at www.biasc.org.

January Housing Starts Up in Some Counties, Down in Others, BIASC Reports

Note to editors: A table detailing production in the six counties covered by BIASC along with activity in selected cities has been posted here, while statewide data can be found here.

IRVINE – The new year brought in a mixed bag of housing production around Southern California, with three counties seeing sharp increases compared to January 2011 and three others reporting significant declines, the Building Industry Association of Southern California reported today.

But according to the Construction Industry Research Board, which compiles the monthly reports of building permit activity around the state, January often sees a sharp drop off from December’s numbers and doesn’t necessarily indicate how the rest of the year will go.

Across the six-county region from El Centro to Ventura (excluding San Diego County), a total of 840 building permits were issued by cities and counties in January, down 64 percent from December 2011 and down 16 percent from last January. The main reason for the decline from December was the sharp drop-off in apartment projects that got under way. Just 294 multifamily permits were pulled, compared to 1,676 the previous month.

On a county-by-county basis, increases were reported in Imperial, Riverside and Ventura counties, while Los Angeles, Orange and San Bernardino counties saw fewer permits issued.

Bob Yoder, this year’s BIASC president and a division president with Shea Homes, said builders are cautiously optimistic that the new-home market will improve slightly this year, but that production is still far below normal levels.

“Homebuilding must finally rebound in order for the state’s economy to begin accelerating out of the Great Recession,” Yoder said. “Builders are bringing innovative new floor plans to market that reflect what Southern Californians have told us they want in a new home, and competitive prices and interest rates mean these homes are more affordable than they have been in years. The BIA will continue working with policymakers across the region to help ensure we can provide the range of homes that area residents want.”

Demonstrating how volatile January was, the 134 permits issued in Imperial County was the third-highest monthly total there in the past four years, while Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties reported their third-lowest totals in the same timeframe. Just 239 permits were issued in L.A. County and only 60 were pulled in San Bernardino County.

On the other hand, the 222 permits in Riverside was more than the number pulled during six months last year and the 31 in Ventura County was better than reported in eight months in 2011.

Among area jurisdictions, Los Angeles ranked first with 112 permits issued, followed by El Centro with 73, Corona with 67, Irvine with 63 and Calexico with 52. Significant multi-family projects fueled the growth in the two Imperial County cities.

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Note to editors: in California, building permits are seldom pulled until construction is ready to begin due to the tens of thousands of dollars in development fees usually due when the permit is obtained. Unlike most other states, permits issued is a good indication of the number of homes on which construction began.

BIASC is a non-profit trade association representing nearly 1,000 member companies in the housing industry, construction trades, and affiliated businesses throughout Southern California. Visit our Website at www.biasc.org.

The Construction Industry Research Board (CIRB) is a Burbank-based nonprofit research center established in 1974 to provide statistical information on the California building and construction industry. More information is available on the CIRB Website, www.cirbdata.com.

Increased Apartment Construction Leads to Increased Housing Starts in 2011, BIASC Reports

Note to editors: A table detailing production in the six counties covered by BIASC along with year-end figures for the top 25 jurisdictions in the region has been posted here, while statewide data can be found here (December figures) and here (production by county during 2011). Quotes from regional experts are attached at the bottom of the release.

IRVINE – Mirroring statewide and national trends, single-family homebuilding fell to a post-World War II low in Southern California in 2011, but thanks to a big increase in apartment construction, the total number of housing starts in the region actually rose by 21 percent compared to 2010, the Building Industry Association of Southern California reported today.

However, total production regionwide was still extremely low, and BIASC President Bob Yoder said builders and local governments need to continue working together to encourage new housing, which economists believe must happen before the overall economy really begins to improve.

“Before this incredibly sharp downturn, statewide housing production had never fallen below 84,000 units a year. But 2011 was the third straight year in which production didn’t hit 50,000. In several counties we serve, there were more permits issued in one month in 2005 or 2006 than were issued all year in 2011,” said Yoder, who is also Southern California Division President for Shea Homes.

“Builders are seeing more interest from prospective buyers and we’re cautiously optimistic that 2012 will be a better year, but that can only happen if we keep new homes priced competitively with existing homes – and that can only happen if cities and counties around Southern California work with builders to reduce and defer building fees that in many cases add more than $50,000 to the cost of building a new home.”

He added that a jump in construction would reduce unemployment, spur economic growth and increase tax revenues for local jurisdictions.

According to preliminary data compiled by the Construction Industry Research Board,  housing starts as measured by building permits issued rose in four of the six counties covered by BIASC but continued to drop in Riverside and San Bernardino counties, which have been especially impacted by the foreclosure crisis.

The number of single-family permits issued rose in Orange and Imperial counties compared to 2010, while total permits increased in those two counties along with Los Angeles and Ventura counties. Overall production during the year was highest in Los Angeles County, which recorded 10,380 housing starts during 2011, followed by Orange County with 4,818.

Among jurisdictions, L.A. City reported the largest number of starts at 6,505, followed by Irvine, the unincorporated areas of L.A. County, the unincorporated areas of Riverside County and the city of Corona. Irvine saw the largest number of single-family homes built with 857, followed Riverside-unincorporated, L.A. City and the new city of Eastvale in Riverside County.

In December, production was up from November in all parts of the region except San Bernardino County. Single-family starts were down sharply from December 2010 across the region, but that was due in large part to the fact builders pulled a lot of extra permits that month to avoid higher-cost building code requirements that went into effect in January 2011.

Regional comments:

Carlos Rodriguez, CEO, Baldy View Chapter:

“The Baldy View Chapter is proud to report that all the cities in our service area that enacted fee decreases in 2011 (Highland, Ontario and San Bernardino) saw increases in permit activity from 2010 to 2011. We applaud these cities for taking a pro-business approach to working with the building industry to create new jobs and revenues for our local economy. While our region still faces some dire economic conditions, we believe that by working together with our local governments, the building industry can lead the economic recovery that our region desperately needs.”  

Bryan Starr, CEO, Orange County Chapter:

"Multi-family continues to be a major driver of housing production in Orange County.  Developers and investors are confident that great schools and safe communities coupled with modest improvements in unemployment will continue to make Orange County a desirable place to live."

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Note to editors: in California, building permits are seldom pulled until construction is ready to begin due to the tens of thousands of dollars in development fees usually due when the permit is obtained. Unlike most other states, permits issued is a good indication of the number of homes on which construction began.

BIASC is a non-profit trade association representing nearly 1,000 member companies in the housing industry, construction trades, and affiliated businesses throughout Southern California.

The Construction Industry Research Board (CIRB) is a Burbank-based nonprofit research center established in 1974 to provide statistical information on the California building and construction industry. More information is available on the CIRB Website, www.cirbdata.com.

BIASC Names Steven Schuyler Vice President for Government Affairs

IRVINE - The Building Industry Association of Southern California announced today that veteran government affairs advocate Steven Schuyler has joined the Association staff as Vice President for Government Affairs. In that role, he will be responsible for leading BIASC’s regional public policy efforts and working closely with the Association’s four Chapters on local issues.

Schuyler has more than 20 years’ experience in public policy and government relations. For the past decade, he has been the principal of The Strategy Centre, representing a variety of clients including land use and environmental concerns, with a special focus on CEQA mitigations. He also has been an advocate for the Western States Petroleum Association and earlier in his career held a variety of positions with elected officials including U.S. Representative Jay Kim, Orange County Supervisor Todd Spitzer and Assembly Member Fred Aguiar.

In making the announcement, BIASC President Bob Yoder said Schuyler’s background will provide the region’s homebuilding industry with a strong resource as it grapples with ever-more complex environmental and regulatory issues across the six-county region.

“Steven has a rare combination of political and technical competence to lead our efforts in these areas,” Yoder said. “He is a skilled negotiator who thoroughly understands the needs of our industry and of state and local government officials, and his understanding of environmental compliance issues will be particularly valuable.”

Schuyler earned a master’s degree in environmental studies-policy and planning, from California State University, Fullerton. He also holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of La Verne. He lives in Chino Hills with his wife, Martha, and four-year-old son, Remington. 

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BIASC represents almost 1,000 member companies throughout Southern California. Along with its four chapters – Los Angeles/Ventura, Orange County, Riverside County and Baldy View – it advocates on behalf of the homebuilding industry throughout Los Angeles, Ventura, southeast Kern, Orange, Riverside, Imperial and San Bernardino counties.