The numbers: Construction on new U.S. homes fell a seasonally adjusted 1.4% in December to 1.38 million, the Commerce Department said Thursday.
The drop in construction on homes followed the decline in November, when housing starts also fell by 1.8%.
Economics polled by the Wall Street Journal expected housing starts to drop to a 1.36 million rate from November’s initial estimate of 1.43 million.
Housing starts are at the lowest level since July 2022.