The Department of Census said privately owned housing starts in December were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.089 million, 4.4% above the revised November estimate of 1.043 million and 5.3% above the Dec. 2013 rate of 1.034 million. Single-family housing starts in December were at a rate of 728,000, 7.2% above the revised November figure of 679,000. The December rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 339,000. An estimated 1.005 million housing units were started in 2014, 8.8% above the 2013 figure of 924,900.
“With overall starts ending the year above 1 million units for the first time since 2007, we expect this momentum to carry forward in 2015,” said David Crowe, NAHB chief economist, in a press release.
