SAN DIEGO — Home construction in the city of San Diego increased in 2019, but is still far off pace to meet the region's high demand for housing.
The findings come in a report released Tuesday by the city's planning department.
It shows that in 2019 the city issued 5,221 permits for new housing units, up from 3,895 the year before. Still, that's way off pace for any sort of building activity that could help lower the cost of housing. Consider that the city only issued permits for 42,275 housing permits from 2010 to 2019, which is 48 percent of its goal of 88,096.
The city says it issued permits for 940 affordable housing units in 2019 and 456 granny flats in 2019.
"This year's report shows early success for our recent initiatives," City Planning Director Mike Hansen said in a statement. "However, it's important the City continues to adopt new housing reforms to meet new, ambitious housing targets and address all of San Diego's housing needs."
For 2020 to 2029, the city has a goal of 108,000 new homes. The city has created incentives such as waiving parking requirements in transit priority areas, offering density bonuses to developers who include affordable housing, and waiving water and sewer fees for accessory dwelling units (aka granny flats).
Still, the median price for a single family home in the $656,000 in June, according to Corelogic. Meanwhile, the average rent was $2,237 per month, according to RentCafe.
