Housing starts fell 14.8% in January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.331 million units, according to Reuters. Economists expected starts to remain unchanged at 1.46 million units.
Applications for building permits, a good indication of future activity, fell 1.5% to 1.47 million units in January.
Single-family housing starts fell 4.7% to a rate of 1.004 million units, with extremely cold weather during the month likely contributing to the decline. Multifamily starts plunged 35.8% to a rate of 314,000 units. Building permits for single-family homes rose 1.6% to a rate of 1.015 million units, and permits for multifamily homes fell 9% to a rate of 405,000 units.
The rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage averaged 6.77% during the week of Feb. 12. Mortgage rates hit a 23-year high of 7.79% in late October 2023.
