Economic Buzz: US Housing Starts Tumble 4.1% In January

18 Feb 2022 , 08:25 AM

US housing starts tumbled by 4.1 percent to an annual rate of 1.638 million in January after inching up by 0.3 percent to a revised rate of 1.708 million in December, the Commerce Department reported on Thursday. The much bigger than expected decrease came after housing starts reached their highest annual rate since last March in December. Single-family housing starts led the way lower, plunging by 5.6 percent to a rate of 1.116 million, while multi-family starts slid by 0.8 percent to a rate of 522,000. Meanwhile, the report said building permits climbed by 0.7 percent to an annual rate of 1.899 million in January after spiking by 9.8 percent to a revised rate of 1.885 million in December. Building permits, an indicator of future housing demand, had been expected to plummet by 6.0 percent to a rate of 1.760 million from the 1.873 million originally reported for the previous month.

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