Are all the efforts to boost homebuilding in California finally paying off?<\/p>\n
To check, my trusty spreadsheet<\/a> eyeballed building permit data from the Census Bureau<\/a>. These stats estimate plans for new multifamily housing, a segment of construction that primarily consists of apartment complexes.<\/p>\n In the first eight months of 2026, permits for 36,600 multifamily housing units were granted statewide. That\u2019s a 33% gain in a year and, more noteworthy perhaps, the third-best start to a year since 1990.<\/p>\n And if you look at it long-term, you see that this year\u2019s multifamily permitting pace is 12% faster than the 10-year average.<\/p>\n Plus, the 502,500 permits issued in the past decade represent a 48% improvement over permitting in the previous 10 years, an era scarred by the Great Recession.<\/p>\n It may not be enough construction to solve California\u2019s affordability headaches, but the increased permitting is clearly movement in the right direction.<\/p>\n Just so you know, California developers of single-family housing have been even more active, with 595,113 permits since 2016, up 60% vs. the previous 10 years.<\/p>\n Southern charms<\/p>\n Much of the California boost can be tied to the metro area covering Los Angeles and Orange counties.<\/p>\n In the first eight months of the year, 16,643 permits for multifamily units were filed in the two counties. That\u2019s 82% higher than the same period a year earlier and the second-best start to a year since 1990.<\/p>\n Plus, it\u2019s 32% above L.A.-Orange County\u2019s pace over the past 10 years.<\/p>\n Cooler elsewhere<\/p>\n California\u2019s multifamily construction surge contrasts with the national picture.<\/p>\n Years of rapid apartment development haven\u2019t produced enough renters to fill the new units in many parts of the nation. So building has chilled.<\/p>\n Outside of California, 310,400 permits were filed to start in 2026 \u2013 up only 2% from the previous year. And this year\u2019s pace is 4% slower than the 10-year average.<\/p>\n