Housing starts fell 16.8% last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 466,000, the Commerce Department reported today.
January's figures represent a 56.2% decline since January 2008. In December, housing starts fell 15.5%.
Single-family housing starts were 12% below the December level. Single family housing completions fell 17.5%.
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Building permits for private housing fell 4.8% in January and were 50.5% down from January 2008.
The declines in housing starts and in building permits reflect the large number of existing homes that are unsold as a result of the problems in the housing market.
The largest month-to-month decline was in the Northeast, which saw housing starts drop 42.9%. The declines in the Midwest, South and West were 29.3%, 12.8% and 6.4%, respectively.
The largest year-to-year drop was 73.7% in the Northeast. The declines in the Midwest, South and West were 66%, 53.7%, and 45.4%, respectively.
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