U.S. housing indicators fall in December

WASHINGTON — Building permits in the U.S. in January were down 5.4% seasonally adjusted to 937,000, reports the U.S. Commerce Department. However, that’s up 2.4% percent from the same month a year ago. Housing starts in January fell 16.0% to 880,000 seasonally adjusted from the previous month, but were up 2.0% year-over-year.