93-09-21 Virginia Construction Picture Remained Lackluster Last Year

VIRGINIA CONSTRUCTION PICTURE REMAINED LACKLUSTER LAST YEAR

     CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., Sept. 21 -- Building permits for new
housing construction in Virginia picked up last year after three
straight years of declines.  But the total number of residential
permits was still well below the average for the last two decades,
according to a new report from the University of Virginia's Center
for Public Service.
     Some 40,165 residential permits were issued in Virginia in
1992, a 20 percent increase over the previous year but still well
below the average of more than 50,000 permits a year since 1970,
according to the report, "Housing Units Authorized in Virginia
Cities and Counties, 1992" by demographer Michael A. Spar.  Single-
family permits accounted for 35,341 of the units.
     While the state's housing construction picture remained
lackluster, permits for non-residential construction dropped for
the second straight year and for the third year in the last four,
Spar said.  The 7,107 permits for non-residential projects
represented a 12 percent drop from 1991.
                               ###
                                               September 20, 1993
     [For additional information Michael Spar may be reached at
(804) 982-5582.  The housing information in the report is available
by computer modem from the center's Electronic Bulletin Board at
(804) 982-4999.]
 
Karen Castle, Office Services Specialist, University News Office
P.O. Box 9018, Booker House, Charlottesville, VA  22906
(804) 924-7116, kac@virginia.edu

[Submitted by: Karen A. Castle  (kac@uva.pcmail.virginia.edu)
               Tue, 21 Sep 93 09:12:35 EDT]