Starts were off in the Western region by 7.6 percent and 14.7 percent for the two earlier periods
By Jann Swanson | Mortgage News Daily
Both housing starts and residential construction permits declined in December compared to November. A joint release from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development shows that housing starts were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,149,000, a 2.5 percent month-over month decline. The latest figure is 6.4 percent higher than that of a year earlier, 1,080,000. The release revised the original estimate for November 2015 to 1,179,000 units from the originally reported 1,173,000.