U.S. developers broke ground on more homes last month, but the increase occurred entirely in apartments. The construction of new single-family houses fell.
Information released Tuesday by the U.S. Commerce Department revealed that housing starts rose 3.2% in November from the previous month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate 1.26 million, or 3.6% below a year ago. Single-family starts dropped 4.6% in November and are down 13.1% from a year earlier.
Some of the data have been distorted by extreme weather. Home-building jumped 15.1% last month in the South in the aftermath of Hurricanes Florence and Michael. And home construction fell 14.2% in the West, possibly because of wildfires in California.
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