January Housing Starts Remain Near 17 Year Low

Housing starts inched up 0.8% in January, remaining close to last month's 17 year low, the Commerce Department said Thursday.

The increase brought the annual rate of housing starts to 1.012 million homes, Commerce said.

Building permits, an indicator of new construction, fell 3% to 1.048 million in January, Bloomberg reported.

Both the uptick in housing starts and the fall in permits were in line with analyst expectations, Bloomberg said.