Steel Markets
January 21, 2021
Robust Finish for Housing Market in 2020
Written by Sandy Williams
The housing construction market continued its strength in December with starts vaulting 5.8 percent from November to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,669,000. Single-family housing starts soared 12 percent, but starts of multifamily housing of five units or more plummeted 15.2 percent.
Building permits, an indicator of future construction, rose 4.5 percent last month to a SAAR of 1,709,000. Single-family permit authorizations continued to outpace multifamily, gaining 7.8 percent from November. Multifamily housing permits slipped 2.0 percent.
