Housing Starts Up 6.4%

Washington, DC, November 17—Housing starts increased about 6.4 percent in October to a seasonally adjusted of 2.027 million, the Commerce Department estimated Wednesday.

It’s the highest level of housing starts since last December’s 2.067 million.

Building permits fell 0.7 percent in October to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 1.984 million.

Economists were expecting a smaller gain in housing starts to about 1.95 million.

Starts of single family homes increased 5.7 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.645 million. Permits for single family homes fell 2.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.525 million, the lowest since February.

Housing starts increased in all four U.S. regions in October, led by a 20 percent increase in the Northeast market.