Table 5. Number of multi-family dwelling unit permits issued and their per- 

 cent distribution among the counties of Southwest Florida in 1975-79 (Thompson 

 et al. 1976, 1977, 1980). 



Number of 

 County permits Percent 



Charlotte 3,905 3.8 



Collier 9,602 9.4 



DeSoto 421 0.4 



Hillsborough 17,813 17.5 



Lee 16,013 15.8 



Manatee 8,368 8.2 



Monroe 1,546 1.5 



Pasco 11,299 11.1 



Pinellas 20,442 20.2 



Sarasota 12,254 12.1 



Region 101,663 100.0 



Residential development probably will continue to increase in Southwest 

 Florida, and the percentage of multi -family dwelling units will increase 

 accordingly in all but Charlotte, DeSoto, and Monroe Counties. 



Condominiums, Cooperatives, and Time-sharing Units 



In Southwest Florida, multi-family units are condominiums, cooperatives, 

 and time-sharing units. The proportion of rental units among them vary con- 

 siderably. Assessments of the availability of rental space must differentiate 

 among kinds of multi-family structures. Such evaluations may be particularly 

 important if OCS oil and gas development bring a new flux of workers and 

 demand for housing. Rental data on condominiums and cooperatives have been 

 difficult to find and have complicated the problem of accurately assessing 

 rental space. 



Quality of Housing 



Since the 1960 Census, the quality of housing has been measured primarily 

 by the kind and number of plumbing facilities in the housing units. In 1960- 

 70, the percentage of housing units in Southwest Florida without plumbing 

 decreased from 13.0% to 3A% (Table 6). Only DeSoto County still has a rela- 

 tively high percentage (13.5%) of housing units without plumbing. Although 

 census data are not yet available for 1980, it is assumed that the quality of 

 housing in all of the counties has improved considerably. 



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