Fewer New Homes Built Most importantly, Johnson said, builders are slowing construction to balance supply with demand. Alan Nevin, chief economist for the California Building Industry Association, said he expects between 21,000 and 23,000 single-family homes will be built in Riverside County this year, down from just fewer than 25,000 in 2006 and 29,000 in 2005. In San Bernardino County, single-family home production peaked at 15,000 in 2005, declined to 13,000 homes in 2006 and is expected to drop to 11,000 homes in 2007, Nevin said. The median price of new homes in the Inland counties will decline by 5 percent to 6 percent this year, said Boyd Martin, chief executive of Market Profiles, a consultant to home builders. He said part of that would reflect a move to build smaller and more affordable houses. Delores Conway, director of the Casden Forecast at the USC Lusk Center for Real Estate, said the Inland region's housing market won't collapse as it did in the early 1990s because the oversupply of housing this time is far less and builders have taken prompt corrective action. Also unlike the housing recession of a decade ago, which was triggered by aerospace and military cutbacks, the Inland area's job pool next year is expected to continue expanding, albeit at a slower pace.
December 31, 2006