Posted To: MND NewsWire

Building permits and housing starts in December were both below levels reported in November 'according to data released this morning by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Census Bureau. Both statistics were, however, well above the levels one year earlier. Building permits for privately owned housing units were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 679,000, 0.1 percent below the revised November rate of 680,000. Permitting activity was 7.8 percent higher than in December 2010 when the pace of permits was 630,000. The November figure was revised downward from the 681,000 originally reported. Permits were issued for single-family houses at the rate of 444,000, up 1.8 percent from the 436,000 reported in November. Multi-family authorizations (permits in buildings with...(read more)