According to data from the Commerce Department, housing starts fell 4.1 percent in December. Starts declined from 685,000 for November to 657,000 in December. December housing starts rose 24.9 percent from 526,000 one year earlier.
"The fall in housing starts in December was driven by a steep decline in the often volatile multifamily sector, while starts of single-family homes actually rose slightly," analysts at Capital Economics said.
