WASHINGTON - New housing starts jumped 14.6% to a seasonally adjusted 596,000 in January, the highest level in five months, as building permits dropped following a spike in December permits as a result of code changes in four states, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday.
Building permits fell 10.4% to a seasonally adjusted 562,000. Permits surged to 627,000 in December, revised lower from 635,000 permits reported last month. Three states, New York, Pennsylvania and California, changed building code laws effective Jan 1, 2011, that caused builders to rush into permits in December, the Commerce Department said.
As a result, permits ebbed in January. Still, the January permits figure was the largest since August, excluding the December aberration.
Economists expected 540,000 housing starts and 570,000 building permits, according to the median estimate from Thomson Reuters. December housing starts were revised lower to 520,000 from 529,000.
January building permits fell in every region except the South, while housing starts increased across the country except in the South.
