Economics
U.S. Housing Starts Drop 4.1% in First Decline in Four Months
- New construction falls 4.1%, suggesting impact from omicron
- Rise in building permits, backlogs signals firmer construction
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New U.S. home construction fell in January for the first time in four months, indicating pandemic-related labor absences and winter weather tempered recent progress on building activity.
Residential starts dropped 4.1% last month to a 1.64 million annualized rate, according to government data released Thursday. Still, applications to build rose to an annualized 1.9 million units, the highest since 2006.