US housing starts fall 1.4% in December

By Ovunc Kutlu

ISTANBUL (AA) - US housing starts fell 1.4% in December, according to data released Thursday by the Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Housing starts, which measures the change in the number of new residential buildings beginning construction, stood at 1.382 million as the Federal Reserve's aggressive rate hikes increased borrowing costs and continues to lower demand in the housing sector.

The figure is slightly off the revised November estimate of 1.401 million, while it is down 21.8% from the December 2021 figure of 1.768 million annually.

Building permits, a key indicator of demand in the market, fell 1.6% to 1.33 million in December.

The November figure for building permits was revised to 1.351 million.

Annually, building permits saw a massive 29.9% decline from 1.896 million in December 2021.

While the Fed is expected to continue rate hikes in the first quarter of 2023, the possibility of a US recession this year has kept overall demand low in the housing industry.