Report: New Housing Permits in Los Angeles Decline in 2023

A new report from Hilgard Analytics by Shoshana Baum highlights residential permitting trends in Los Angeles through the third quarter of 2023, showing how development has changed in the city since 2022.

According to the report, development permits vary widely by city council district. Due in part to high interest rates, a cooling job market, and labor disputes, L.A. development has waned in most areas, with the notable exceptions of council districts 1, 8, 10, and 13. These districts have approved more residential permits than in the same period last year.

The report notes that, although interest rates will likely remain high, “the other factors that have been contributing to this decline in permitting are likely to go away or be mitigated, likely leading to a resurgence in the residential permitting numbers.” However, “the shortage of deed-restricted affordable housing, redlining, and other racist and exclusionary policies will keep LA’s housing and homelessness challenges acute even if the overall permitting of housing drastically accelerates.”

The details: 11,437 residential units were permitted in the first three quarters of 2023, down 5.3 percent or 641 units from last year.

See the full report, linked below, for details on each council district.