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2026-02-18 22:27:29
[US Housing Starts Hit Five-Month High, Building Permits Rebound] US housing starts rose to their highest level in five months in December, as homebuilders accelerated project construction, taking advantage of lower financing costs. Official data, released on Wednesday due to the fall government shutdown, showed that US housing starts rose 6.2% month-over-month in December, to an annualized rate of 1.4 million units. This figure exceeded the forecasts of all economists surveyed by Bloomberg. Starts across all types of housing increased, with both single-family homes and condominiums seeing a rebound at the end of the year. The even stronger construction data suggests that while builders are still digesting previous inventory, confidence in the market outlook has strengthened towards the end of the year.
