WASHINGTON (AFX) - Housing starts rose 5.3 pct in January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.651 mln units, the Commerce Department said.
This is the highest level of housing starts since April 2000. The rise was in starts was unexpected. The consensus forecast of Wall Street economists was for housing starts to fall 2.2 pct to 1.54 mln units.
In November, housing starts rose a revised 0.3 pct to 1.568 mln units. The increase was indentical to the initial estimate although the level was revised from 1.575 mln.
Year-on-year, housing starts in January were down 5.3 pct. Building permits were up 12.6 pct at 1.70 mln units. This is the highest leve of permits since Jan 2000.
In November, building permits fell a revised 5.7 pct to 1.507 mln units, up from the initial estimate of a 6.6 pct fall to 1.493 mln units.