U.S. new home construction fell 1.5% in February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.599 million units, according to www.cnbc.com.
Economists had expected housing starts to decrease to a pace of 1.5 million units in February.
Single-family starts rose 6.7% to 1.072 million units, and multifamily starts decreased 17% to a rate of 508,000 units. Building permits fell 5.5% to a 1.464 million annualized rate after surging to 1.550 million units in January.
Data for January was revised higher to show homebuilding rising to a pace of 1.624 million units instead of dropping to 1.567 million units as previously reported.
The recovery of the housing market is likely to be affected by the coronavirus, which has caused turmoil in the U.S., leading economists to anticipate widespread job losses and a recession by the second quarter.
