December housing starts dropped 11.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.08 million units, according to the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The adjusted rate is down 10.9 percent compared with December 2017.
Overall starts remained flat in the Northeast in December but declined 26.3 percent in the West, 13.2 percent in the Midwest and 6 percent in the South.
"Looking back, the December drop in housing production correlated with the peak increase in mortgage rates and corresponding decline in builder sentiment," National Association of Home Builders Chairman Greg Ugalde said in a statement. "During that time, builders adopted a cautious wait-and-see approach as demonstrated in the rise of single-family and multifamily units that were permitted but not under construction."
Building permits issued in December grew 0.3 percent to an adjusted rate of 1.3 million, jumping 17.1 percent in the West and falling 17.6 percent in the Midwest, 6 percent in the Northeast and 2 percent in the South.
Housing completions fell 2.7 percent in December to a rate of 1.09 million, an 8.4 percent drop compared with December 2017.
