US housing starts fall in January, retreating from 9-month high

By Ovunc Kutlu

ANKARA (AA) - US housing starts fell in January from the previous month when it stood at its highest level in nine months, according to a report Thursday by the Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The figure, which measures the change in the number of new residential buildings beginning construction, came in just below 1.64 million, falling 70,000, or 4.1%, from December.

The revised December figure stood at almost 1.71 million, the highest level since March 2021.

The leading indicator of the housing industry represented an 0.8% increase from January 2021.

Building permits, a key indicator for demand in the market, increased 14,000, or 0.7%, to reach almost 1.9 million in January.

The December figure was revised to almost 1.89 million.

Annually, building permits represented a 0.8% gain from January 2021.