Housing Starts Jump 15%

Housing starts bounced from one-year low in December to rise 15% in January, the Commerce Department said Wednesday.

Starts rose to an annual rate of 569,000 units, the highest in a year, Commerce said.

The level was better than economists’ projections of a 539,000 annual rate, Bloomberg reported.

Building permits, an indicator of future construction, fell 10% to a 562,000 annual rate, after rising 15% in December.

Single-family home starts, which account for about 85% of the total, slipped 1% to a 413,000 rate, the lowest since May 2009.

Work on multifamily units, which is often more volatile, jumped to a 183,000 rate, from 103,000 in December.

Starts rose in three of four regions, falling only in the West.