{"id":35183,"date":"2026-03-12T09:51:36","date_gmt":"2026-03-12T13:51:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/january-home-construction-drops-as-winter-weather-slams-building-industry\/"},"modified":"2026-03-12T09:51:36","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T13:51:36","slug":"january-home-construction-drops-as-winter-weather-slams-building-industry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/january-home-construction-drops-as-winter-weather-slams-building-industry\/","title":{"rendered":"January Home Construction Drops as Winter Weather Slams Building Industry"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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WASHINGTON – Construction of new single-family homes declined in January as brutal winter conditions disrupted building activity across the nation, according to new federal data that suggests recovery may be slow.<\/p>

The Commerce Department’s Census Bureau reported Thursday that single-family home construction starts – which represent most residential building activity – decreased 2.8% to a seasonally adjusted annual pace of 935,000 units during January. December figures were also revised downward, showing construction activity at 962,000 units rather than the previously reported 981,000-unit pace.<\/p>

The data release was postponed due to last year’s federal government shutdown. Construction activity plummeted dramatically in the Northeast, falling 33.3%, while the South – the nation’s most populated region – saw a 4.6% decline. The Midwest and Western regions posted increases. Severe snowstorms and freezing temperatures battered much of the country throughout January.<\/p>

Compared to the same month last year, single-family construction starts fell 6.5%. The homebuilding sector continues struggling with multiple challenges including tariffs on imported materials like lumber and bathroom fixtures, workforce shortages linked to immigration restrictions, and elevated borrowing costs.<\/p>

While mortgage interest rates have dropped this year, encouraging home buyers, the ongoing U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran is driving up oil costs and increasing U.S. Treasury bond yields. Mortgage rates typically follow the 10-year Treasury benchmark.<\/p>

Builder confidence remains low, indicating that single-family home construction is unlikely to see substantial improvement soon.<\/p>

Multi-family housing projects with five or more units – a highly unpredictable market segment – jumped 29.1% to an annual rate of 524,000 units in January. Total housing construction increased 7.2% to 1.487 million units annually, representing a 9.5% year-over-year gain.<\/p>

Building permits for future single-family construction dropped 0.9% to 873,000 units in January, down 11.6% from the previous year.<\/p>

Permits for multi-family projects with five or more units plunged 13.4% to 453,000 units annually. Overall construction permits fell 5.4% to 1.376 million units, declining 5.8% compared to January of last year.<\/p>

Housing investment, which encompasses all homebuilding activity, has now declined for four consecutive quarters.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

New single-family home construction declined 2.8% in January as severe winter weather disrupted building activity nationwide. The construction industry continues facing challenges from material costs, labor shortages, and fluctuating mortgage rates.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":35182,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[834],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-35183","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/news-1773323496105.jpg?fit=450%2C300&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pbtNqq-99t","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":39517,"url":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/january-new-home-sales-plummet-to-lowest-point-since-2022\/","url_meta":{"origin":35183,"position":0},"title":"January New Home Sales Plummet to Lowest Point Since 2022","author":"Admin","date":"March 19, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"New home purchases across the United States dropped dramatically in January, falling 17.6% to their weakest level in nearly three and a half years. Severe winter weather and snowstorms likely contributed to the sharp decline as potential buyers stayed indoors.","rel":"","context":"In "Business"","block_context":{"text":"Business","link":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/category\/business\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/news-1773933736086.jpg?fit=450%2C300&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":41224,"url":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/national-construction-spending-takes-surprise-dip-in-january\/","url_meta":{"origin":35183,"position":1},"title":"National Construction Spending Takes Surprise Dip in January","author":"Admin","date":"March 23, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Construction spending across the United States declined 0.3% in January, defying economist predictions of growth. 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