US single-family housing starts fall in January

WASHINGTON, March 12 (Reuters) - U.S. single-family ‌homebuilding fell in ​January ​amid harsh winter weather, and a strong rebound is unlikely, with permits for future construction declining.

Single-family housing starts, which account for the bulk ‌of homebuilding, dropped 2.8% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of ⁠935,000 units in January, the Commerce Department's Census Bureau said on Thursday. Data for December was ‌revised lower to show starts ‌rebounding to a rate of 962,000 units instead of the previously estimated 981,000-unit rate.

The report was delayed by last year's shutdown of the federal government. Groundbreaking ​on new single-family housing projects tumbled 33.3% in the Northeast and fell 4.6% in the densely populated South. Starts rose in the Midwest and the West ⁠regions. Heavy snow and frigid temperatures slammed large parts of the country in January.

Single-family starts dropped 6.5% year-on-year ​in January. Homebuilding has been hampered by tariffs on imported goods, including lumber and vanity cabinets, worker shortages amid an immigration ​crackdown and higher mortgage rate rates.

Though mortgage rates ‌have declined this year, stimulating home purchasing, the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran is pushing up oil prices and boosting U.S. Treasury ⁠yields. Mortgage rates track the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield.

Homebuilder sentiment has remained depressed, suggesting that new single-family home construction is unlikely to significantly improve in the near term.

Starts for housing projects ⁠with 5 units or more, a very volatile segment, surged 29.1% to a rate of ​524,000 units in January. Overall housing starts increased 7.2% to a rate of 1.487 million units. They advanced 9.5% year-on-year in January.

Permits for the future construction of single-family housing units fell ‌0.9% to a rate of 873,000 units in January. Permits decreased 11.6% from a year ago.

Building permits for housing projects with ‌5 units or more tumbled 13.4% to a rate of 453,000 units in January. Overall ⁠building permits dropped 5.4% to ‌a rate of 1.376 million ​units. They declined 5.8% year-on-year in January.

Residential investment, which includes homebuilding, has contracted for four straight quarters.

(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by ‌Chizu Nomiyama )

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