Construction of single-family homes rose last month despite pressure on the housing market from higher mortgage rates.
Single-family housing starts, which account for the vast majority of all homebuilding, rose 3.3% in December from the prior month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,050,000, the U.S. Census Bureau reported Friday.
Total housing starts, including multifamily units, were at 1,499,000 annualized last month—up 15.8% from November. However, that figure was down 4.4% from a year earlier.
For all of 2024, an estimated 1,364,100 housing units were started—a decline of 3.9% from the 2023 figure of 1,420,000. Completions, on the other hand, rose 12.4% from the prior year to 1,627,900 total units finished in 2024.
“While new construction picked up between November and December, there are still headwinds in the homebuilding sector,” says Bright MLS Chief Economist Lisa Sturtevant.
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