U.S. home builders started construction on homes at a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of roughly 1.64 million in January, representing a roughly 4% decrease from the previous month, the U.S. Census Bureau reported Thursday. Compared with January 2021, however, housing starts were up nearly 1%. Permitting for new homes occurred at a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 1.9 million, up nearly 1% compared with December and and the pace recorded a year ago. Economists polled by MarketWatch had expected housing starts to occur at a median pace of 1.69 million and building permits to come in at a median pace of 1.75 million.
