Reuters, February 16, 2024, US Single-Family Housing Starts Fall In January; Permits Rise
Single-family housing starts, which account for the bulk of homebuilding, dropped 4.7% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.004 million units last month, the Commerce Department’s Census Bureau said on Friday. Data for December was revised up to show single-family starts falling to a rate of 1.054 million units instead of the previously reported 1.027 million units.
A rebound is likely as temperatures rose in February, and with the Federal Reserve expected to start cutting interest rates sometime in the first half of the year. A survey from the National Association of Home Builders on Thursday showed confidence among single-family builders rose to an 18-month high in February.