Steel Markets
January 17, 2018
Housing Starts Slower in December But Confidence High
Written by Sandy Williams
U.S. Department of Commerce data shows that new-home starts declined in December while building permit authorizations remained relatively flat. Housing starts dropped 8.2 percent in December from the previous month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,192,000. Compared to December 2016, starts were down 6.0 percent.
Single-family housing starts were 11.8 percent below November’s level. Construction of multi-family homes with five units or more rose 2.6 percent. Regionally, housing starts fell across the nation with the biggest decline in the South, down 14.2 percent.
