US: Housing starts drop sharply in November

US housing starts fell 18.7% in November to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.090 million, the Commerce Department said Friday. Meanwhile, building permits also dropped 4.7% to 1.201 million.

Analysts had expected starts to fall to 1.230 million and permits to print 1.240 million.

The slump in housing starts follows a strong October reading, which registered the highest level of starts since July 2007.