U.S. housing starts rose much more than expected in December

WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) – A report released Friday by the Commerce Department shows that construction of new homes in the United States soared much more than expected in December.

The Commerce Department said housing starts rose 15.8 percent to an annual rate of 1.499 million in December, after falling 3.7 percent to a revised 1.294 million in November.

Economists expected housing starts to rise 2.4 percent, to an annual rate of 1.320 million, compared with 1.289 million initially reported for the previous month.

At the same time, the report said building permits fell 0.7 percent to an annual rate of 1.483 million in December, after jumping 5.2 percent to a revised rate of 1.493 million in November.

Building permits, an indicator of future housing demand, are expected to fall 3.0 percent to an annual rate of 1.460 million from the 1.505 million initially reported for the previous month.