U.S. housing starts slide in November

WASHINGTON — U.S. housing starts in November were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,090,000, falling 18.7% below October’s rate of 1,340,000 and 6.9% below November 2015’s rate of 1,171,000. Building permits were at a SAAR of 1,201,000, down 4.7% from the previous month and 6.6% from the previous year. The decline in housing starts was greater than that forecast by a Reuters poll of economists, who predicted a 1.23 million SAAR. A surge in starts in October created a disparity between the rate of starts and permits.