---
title: Housing Starts Dive While Building Permits Soar, What Gives?
description: Housing starts declined in January by 3.6% from the month before, yet new construction building permits reached a 13-year high, increasing by 9.2%.
---

[Financials | National Investor Network ](https://www.nationalinvestornetwork.com/financials)

# [Housing Starts Dive While Building Permits Soar, What Gives?](https://www.nationalinvestornetwork.com/financials/housing-starts-dive-while-building-permits-soar-what-gives)

 Written by [Jeff Mindham](https://www.nationalinvestornetwork.com/financials/author/jeff-mindham) | Feb 21, 2020 1:55:16 AM

Housing starts [declined in January by 3.6%](https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-housing-starts-down-3-6-in-january-151582119007) from the month before, yet new construction building permits reached a 13-year high, increasing by 9.2%. Housing starts data is notoriously volatile and comes with a 13.3% margin of error and is, therefore, not considered a good bellwether. 

On the other hand, building permits are considered a much better indicator of the state of the real estate market.

[View full post](https://www.nationalinvestornetwork.com/financials/housing-starts-dive-while-building-permits-soar-what-gives)

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