Print San Diego County had the biggest increase in homebuilding in Southern California in 2020 during a pandemic that shuttered much of the economy. There were 9,486 homes constructed in 2020, up 18 percent from a dismal 2019, said the Real Estate Research Council of Southern California. It is still way off from the more than 17,000 homes built in 2004 but was a return to about average for what has been constructed annually since the region climbed out of the Great Recession. Real estate experts say the region is still short of meeting its housing needs. Despite many stories of people leaving California because of high costs, San Diego County’s population has continued to grow, albeit more slowly.