Dive summary:

• December saw very good numbers for housing – starts up 12.1% from a year earlier and permits were up 19.5% by the same measure – but economists say that even if housing had a walloping 20% spurt this year, residential construction makes up less than 3% of U.S. GDP and can't pull the whole train up the recovery hill.
• Housing seems to be doing well, but consumer confidence is dropping again, and observers say the uncertainty in Washington about spending and budgets and the long-term debt ceiling are part of the reason.
• Another cautionary note is that the December starts – an annual pace of 954,000 – might have been due in part to the U.S. having one of the 10 warmest Decembers on record.

From the article:

The sentiment index unexpectedly fell to a 13-month low of 71.3. And economists worry households could turn moodier, which risks a bigger slowdown in consumer spending. ...