MW: U.S. Dec. housing starts fall 4% to 557,000 pace
By Rex Nutting
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - Capping the worst year for housing since the end of World War II, U.S. housing starts fell 4% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 557,000 in December, the Commerce Department estimated Wednesday. For all of 2009, an estimated 554,000 homes were started, down 39% from 2008's total and the lowest on record. Starts of single-family homes dropped 29% to a record-low 444,000 in 2009. The number of building permits rose 10.9% in December to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 653,000, the highest in 14 months. In December, building permits for single-family homes rose 8.3% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 508,000, the highest in 15 months.
