US housing starts decline 4.3% in December

By Ovunc Kutlu

ISTANBUL (AA) - US housing starts fell 4.3% in December from the previous month, but managed to come in better than market expectations, according to data released Thursday.

Housing starts, which measure the change in the number of new residential buildings beginning construction, stood at 1.460 million, according to the Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Market estimates for the figure were at 1.436 million, while the November figure stood at 1.525 million.

Housing starts were, however, up 7.6% in December compared to the same month of last year, when they stood at 1.357 million.

Building permits, a key indicator of market demand, rose 1.9% to 1.495 million in December.

That figure also managed to beat the market expectations of 1.480 million, following 1.467 million in November.

On an annual basis, building permits were up 6.1% from the same month in 2022, when they stood at 1.409 million.