After two months of disappointing, declining housing starts and permits - understandable with mortgage rates around 7 percent - the May data was a shocker, according to Tyler Durden of ZeroHedge.

On May 1, the International Code Council kicked off the 43rd annual Building Safety Month. The campaign raises awareness about the importance of building codes and the role that building safety professionals play in keeping our communities safe.

Total construction starts rose 8 percent in October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.12 trillion.

New construction starts in December fell 10 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $708.9 billion, continuing to retreat after November’s 7 percent slide