Housing Starts Decline 8.5% in January

Housing starts fell 8.5% in January, on a drop in construction of multifamily units, the Commerce Department said Wednesday.

Starts fell to an annual rate of 890,000 units, lower than economists’ median forecast of 920,000, Bloomberg News reported.

December starts were revised up to 973,000, the highest in four years, from an originally reported 954,000.

Single-family home starts in January rose 0.8% to a 613,000 rate, the highest since July 2008.

Work on multifamily units, which is often more volatile, fell 24.1% to an annual rate of 277,000.