Housing Starts Rise in January

Housing starts increased 1.5% in January, the Commerce Department said Thursday.

Starts rose to an annual rate of 699,000 units, from a revised 689,000 in December that was larger than originally reported.

The January rate surpassed economists’ forecasts of a 675,000 rate, Bloomberg reported.

Building permits, an indicator of future construction, increased 0.7% to 676,000.

Single-family home starts, which account for about 85% of the total, slipped 1% to a 508,000 rate after jumping 12% the previous month.

Work on multifamily units, which is often more volatile, climbed 8.5% to an annual rate of 191,000.

Starts rose in three of four national regions, led by an 18% gain in the South and a 12% increase in the West.