Starts for the volatile multi-family housing segment increased 2.4 percent to 304 thousand and single-family homebuilding, which accounts for the largest share of the housing market, went up 25.1 percent to a rate of 926 thousand units, the highest level since May. Starts advanced in the Northeast (58.5 percent to 149 thousand), South (13.8 percent to 700 thousand), and the West (29.3 percent to 265 thousand) while in the Midwest declined (-5.7 percent to 116 thousand). Starts for December were revised to 1,037 thousand from 1,078 thousand.
Building permits increased 1.4 percent month-over-month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,345 thousand in January of 2019, the highest level since April while markets were expecting a 2.9 percent drop to 1,289 thousand. Permits for the volatile multi-family housing segment rose 7.2 percent to 553 thousand while single-family authorisations declined 2.1 percent to 812 thousand. Across regions, building permits increased in the Northeast (26.4 percent to 139 thousand) and the Midwest (33.1 percent to 193 thousand), but fell in the South (-3.5 percent to 664 thousand) and the West (-8.9 percent to 349 thousand).
Year-on-year, housing starts fell 7.8 percent and building permits decreased 1.5 percent.
