New apartment and condominium construction activity in...

New apartment and condominium construction activity in San Diego County increased in October versus the year-ago total, while sales of existing units continued their yearlong slump, compared to 1986 figures.

According to a monthly survey of deals compiled by John Burnham & Co., new apartment building permits in October were valued at $14.6 million and condo building permits $23.9 million, up 72% and 83% respectively from the October, 1986, totals.

For the year to date however, new apartment construction is 38% below last year’s pace and condominium construction is 29% off. The number of new apartment units added to the county’s inventory through October was 5,788 , down 38% from 9,437 units for the year-ago period.

Sales of existing apartment buildings of three or more units totaled 121 transactions in October, down 16% from the previous October. For the first 10 months of this year, apartment transactions stood at 857, down 26% for the same period in 1986.