The monthly
report on new residential construction from the Commerce Department revealed on
Friday that housing starts jumped by 15.8 per cent m-o-m in December 2024 to a
seasonally adjusted annual pace of 1.499 million (the highest
level since February 2024 (1.546 million)),
while building permits fell by 5.2 per cent m-o-m to a seasonally adjusted
annual rate of 1.483 million (the lowest level in three months).
Economists had predicted
housing starts of 1.320 million units for December and building permits of 1.460
million units.
Data for November
was revised to show homebuilding rising at
a pace of 1.294 million units, instead of increasing at a rate of 1.289 million
units as originally reported.
According to
the report, permits for single-family homes, the largest segment of the market,
climbed by 1.6 per cent m-o-m in December, while approvals for the
multi-family homes segment (includes 2 to 4 and 5 or more housing units) plunged
by 5.0 per cent m-o-m.
In the meantime, groundbreaking on single-family
homes surged by 3.3 per cent m-o-m in December, while multi-unit starts soared
by 58.9 per cent m-o-m.