U.S. housing starts jump up 12.1% in December

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U.S. housing starts jump up 12.1% in December
from MarketWatch.com - MarketPulse
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Construction on new U.S. homes jumped up 12.1% in December to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 954,000 - the highest level since June 2008 -- with gains across the country, as well as in single-family homes and buildings, the U.S. Department of Commerce reported Thursday. Economists polled by MarketWatch had expected U.S. housing starts to increase to a rate of 883,000 from an original estimate of 861,000 for November. On Thursday, the government revised November's rate to 851,000. Starts rose 24.7% in the Midwest, 21.4% in the Northeast, 18.7% in the West and 3.8% in the South. By structure size, starts for single-family homes rose 8.1%, and increased 20.3% in buildings with at least two units. While starts in December were up 37% from a year earlier, rates remain far below a bubble peak of almost 2.3 million in 2006. Meanwhile, building permits, a sign of future demand, rose 0.3% in December to a rate of 903,000 - the highest rate since July 2008. Permits for single-family homes rose 1.8% to a rate of 578,000, while permits for structures with at least two units declined 2.1% to a rate of 325,000.