Housing Starts Rise in January, but Permits Fall

Washington, DC, Feb. 17, 2010--Housing starts rose to their highest level in seven months in January, according to the Commerce Department.

Starts rose 2.8% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 591,000, the highest level since July.

Starts were in line with the forecasts of economists.

Housing starts for December were also revised higher. In December, starts were revised to an annual rate of 575,000, up from 557,000 previously

Building permits, a separate, less-volatile measure of new construction, fell 4.9% last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 621,000. This follows a 10.9% jump in December.

Permits for single-family homes, considered by many analysts to be the key number in the report, rose 0.4% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 507,000.

Starts of single-family homes increased 1.5% to an annual rate of 484,000.

Housing starts have now risen 21.1% in the past year, the largest year-over-year increase since April 2004. Building permits are up 16.9% in the past year, the largest year-over-year gain since May 2004.