U.S. Housing Starts fell by 8.5% (month-over-month) in January, 2013 to an annual rate of 890,000. Single-family homes, which account for approximately 70% of construction, increased by 0.8%, while structures with 5 units or more fell by 26.1%. Building permits, which measure future building activity, rose by 1.8%. Economists believe that a healthy housing market requires housing starts to grow at an annual rate of approximately 1.2 million.
