The monthly report on new residential construction from the Commerce
Department showed on Wednesday the housing starts rose by 1.4 percent m-o-m in December
to a seasonally adjusted annual pace of 1.702 million (the highest level since
March), while building permits climbed by 9.1 percent m-o-m to a seasonally
adjusted annual rate of 1.873 (the highest level since January).
Economists had forecast housing starts declining to a pace of 1.650
million units last month and building permits decreasing to a pace of 1.701
million units.
Data for November was revised to show homebuilding growing at a pace of
1.678 million units, instead of increasing at a rate of 1.679 million units as
previously reported, and permits advancing at a pace of 1.717 million units,
instead of rising at a rate of 1.712 million units as previously reported.
According to the report, permits for single-family homes, the largest
segment of the market, rose by 2.0 percent m-o-m in December, while approvals
for the multi-family homes segment (includes 2 to 4 and 5 or more housing
units) surged by 21.9 percent m-o-m.
In the meantime, groundbreaking on single-family homes fell by 2.3
percent m-o-m in December, but this decline was more than offset by a 13.7 percent
m-o-m climb in housing starts for the multi-family.