WASHINGTON - Groundbreaking for new U.S. home construction increased 2.8% to a seasonally adjusted 591,000 in January as building permits decreased by 4.9% to 621,000, the Commerce Department reported today.
Both measures of housing sector growth were higher than economists’ estimates. The monthly drop in building permits was the largest since March.
Economists expected 580,000 housing starts and 620,000 building permits, according to the median estimate from Thomson Reuters.
Housing starts for December were revised up to 575,000 from 557,000 reported last month and building permits were unrevised at 653,000 for the month.
Housing starts jumped 21.1% from a year ago and building permits increased 16.9% year-over-year, the largest annual gains since 2004. Housing starts plunged in January 2009 by 54.9%, the largest year-over-year decline on record. For all of 2009, housing starts fell by a record 38.8%.
January housing completions dropped to 659,000.
