Groundbreaking for new U.S. home construction slumped in December, sliding 15.5% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 550,000 units as building permits dropped 10.7% to an annual rate of 549,000 units, according to Commerce Department data released yesterday.
The rate for housing starts failed to meet the 615,000 level predicted by Thomson Reuters’ poll of economists. Thomson had projected a 610,000 rate for permits.
The 15.5% decline in starts follows a 15.1% drop in November to 651,0000 units, originally reported as an 18.9% decrease to 625,0000 units. In November permits were down 15.8% to 615,000 units, originally reported as a 15.6% decrease to 616,000 units.
Year-over-year housing starts were off 45.0% from a year ago, when 1.000 million units were started. The permits figure was 50.6% below the year-ago rate of 1.111 million.
