The pace of new construction slowed in January, as colder than normal weather spread across the country, the Census Bureau reported on Wednesday.

While building permits held roughly steady at a 1.483 million annual pace, housing starts fell by 9.8% from December’s upwardly revised 1.5 million level to an annual rate of 1.37 million.

“This decline is a function of several factors: a colder than usual January, mortgage rates crossing the 7 percent threshold in January, and builder pessimism reflecting lingering supply-side and affordability headwinds,” Odeta Kushi, deputy chief economist at First American Financial, posted on social media.