US housing starts drop but permits reach 4-year high

The Commerce Department said on Wednesday that starts at building sites for homes fell 8.5 percent last month to an 890,000-unit annual rate.

The decline was due to a sharp drop in the volatile multifamily unit category, which fell 24.1 percent during the month.

Starts for single-family units, which comprised about two-thirds of the total, edged up 0.8 percent to their highest level since July 2008.

Permits for future home construction rose to a 925,000-unit rate, the quickest since June 2008.

Data for U.S. housing starts can be volatile and is sometimes subject to large revisions. The government revised upward its estimate for December housing starts to a 973,000-unit rate, the fastest pace since June 2008.

The housing market has regained some footing after a historic collapse that helped push the economy into its worst recession since the Great Depression.

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