US homebuilding dropped significantly in January, as winter storms and higher mortgage rates stymied progress on the housing shortage. It was the biggest monthly drop since April 2020. Starts fell to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.331 million last month, well short of expectations of 1.46 million and hitting the slowest pace since August. Building permits also dropped in January, down 1.5% from December’s revised number to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.470 million. “Housing starts collapsed in January,” said Lawrence Yun, chief economist at the National Association of Realtors, in a statement.

Source: CNN February 16, 2024 16:45 UTC