New-home construction in California decreased during October 2005, down 15.8 % compared with October 2004, the California Building Industry Association reported. Last month, 14,425 new housing units were started throughout the state, with single-family units accounting for 77 percent of the starts. Despite the decline, homebuilders are expected to produce 213,000 housing units in 2005, exceeding the 15-year high recorded in 2004.

During the first 10 months of 2005, California housing starts totaled 178,945, a 2.1 % increase compared with the same period one year earlier. According to the report, single-family construction was the strongest in the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario and Sacramento-Arden-Roseville regions.