Groundbreaking for new U.S. home construction slumped in November, sliding 18.9% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 625,000 units as building permits dropped 15.6% to an annual rate of 616,000 units, according to Commerce Department data released yesterday.
The rate for housing starts failed to meet the 740,000 level predicted by Thomson Reuters’ poll of economists. Thomson additionally had projected a 700,000 rate for permits.
The 18.9% decline in starts follows a 6.4% drop in October to 771,0000 units. In October permits were down 9.3% to 730,000 units.
Year-over-year housing starts were off 47.0% from a year ago, when 1.179 million units were started. The permits figure was 49.8% below the year-ago rate of 1.187 million.
