WASHINGTON (AP) – U.S. homebuilders slowed the pace of construction in January, breaking ground on fewer single-family houses ahead of the spring buying season.
Housing starts slipped 2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.07 million last month, down from 1.09 million in December, the Commerce Department said Wednesday.
Leading that decline was a sharp 6.7 percent monthly drop in starts for single-family houses. Still, a healing economy has caused building activity to move at a faster clip, with single-family starts climbing 18.7 percent over the past 12 months.
Strong job growth should help boost home sales and apartment construction this year. In the past three months alone, the economy has gained more than a million new paychecks. Employers are adding workers at an annual clip of 2.3 percent, the fastest rate in the more than five-year recovery from the Great Recession.
The hiring has also fueled expectations that more millennials will sign leases on apartments. Builders have prepared for the additional demand, with apartment construction surging 12.1 percent in January and 24.5 percent over the past 12 months.