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New housing construction in the U.S. missed expectations in November (Bloomberg).

What’s going on: “Housing starts decreased 1.8% to an annualized rate of 1.29 million, the slowest since July, according to government data released Wednesday. The median forecast was for a 1.35 million pace.”

• While single-family housing starts rose 6.4%, construction of new multifamily projects fell more than 23%, pulling down the overall number.

Why it happened: The increase in single-family construction was largely due to rebuilding in hurricane-ravaged areas in the South, the largest homebuilding region in the U.S.

• Homebuilding in all other regions of the nation decreased in November.

By region: Total new home construction dipped 28.2% in the Midwest and almost 12% in the West.

• In the Northeast, single-family home building dropped to the lowest level in more than three years.

Permits: Building permits, which indicate coming construction, rose 6.1% last month. But the number of projects being built declined to its lowest level since March 2021.

What it means: “The slowdown in starts of multifamily projects may prove temporary, as a surge in permits suggests builders still have interest in larger projects,” according to Bloomberg Economics.