Housing Starts Fall in November

Housing starts fell 3% in November, the Commerce Department said Wednesday.

Starts fell to an annual rate of 861,000 units, from a revised 888,000 in October, which were originally reported at 894,000.

The November level was lower than economists’ median forecast of a 872,000 rate, Bloomberg reported.

Single-family home starts fell 4.1% to a 565,000 rate.

Work on multifamily units, which are often more volatile, fell 1% to an annual rate of 296,000.

Two of four regions showed a decrease, led by a 19.2% drop in the West and a 5.2% decrease in the Northeast.  In the Midwest new construction showed a 3.3% increase and the South had a 2.9% rise.