Dramatic Recent Growth By any definition of growth, the South Bay is booming. Between January 1996 and June 1997, building permits were issued for 11,000 new housing units, 3.5 million square feet of office, 3 million square feet of retail/service, and 4 million square feet of industrial space. In all categories except retail/service, these numbers represent more than one third of the total activity for the region. Employment growth between 1995 and 1997 is estimated at 126,000 jobs, a15.2% increase. This represents 44% of the total employment growth for the region. Residential activity is particularly intense in Sunnyvale and Cupertino, and further south in Morgan Hill and Gilroy. Together, these four cities issued permits for more than 3,000 new units between January 1996 and June 1997. Of course, in terms of the absolute number of units, the much larger City of San Jose overshadows these cities. The 5,710 units permitted during the same period in San Jose are by far the most of any city in the Bay Area. In fact, San Jose’s permit total exceeds the combined total for all cities in Marin, San Francisco, and San Mateo Counties. As far as non-residential development, the City of Santa Clara has been exceedingly active. Between January 1996 and June 1997, the city issued permits for a total of 1.1 million square feet of office space, 900,000 square feet of retail/service space, and 400,000 square feet of industrial space. Rising Housing Costs
	Despite the recent residential building activity, housing prices in the South Bay continue to rise, demonstrating that demand still far outstrips supply. Sales prices of homes in Santa Clara County rose approximately 10% between July 1996 and July 1997.
Average rents rose even more dramatically, jumping 20% in this one year. Continued Job Growth As the home of numerous Internet, networking, communications, and software companies, the South Bay is poised for continued job growth over the next 20 to 25 years. ABAG forecasts the addition of 400,000 jobs between 1995 and 2020, an increase of almost 50%. Growth is expected to be strong in most parts of the subregion.

Click on the following maps listed below to see image :

Residential Building Permits, 1996-97 Nonresidential Building Permits, 1996-97 Existing Households, 1995 Nonresidential Inventory, 1995 New Households, 1995-2020 Nonresidential Development, 1995-2020 Median Home Sales Price, 1997 Jobs / Employed Residents, 1995

Less Residential Growth The South Bay’s high housing costs already mean that many people who work in Santa Clara County are commuting from lower-cost communities in the East Bay. Some are even stretching beyond the Bay Area’s borders, to cities such as Tracy in San Joaquin County and Hollister in San Benito County. This trend is likely to continue. Forecasts put the net number of commuters into Santa Clara County at 116,000 in the year 2000 and over 170,000 in 2020. In 1990, this number was 40,000. An additional 110,000 households are forecast for the South Bay between 1995 and 2020, primarily in Gilroy, Morgan Hill, and San Jose. Although this represents a 20% increase in the number of households, it is substantially less than the nearly 50% boost expected in the number of jobs. Residential development in the North Bay and East Bay subregions is expected to exceed the South Bay’s in number of new households and percentage increase.

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