Roofs and walls continued to go up around Americans at a healthy pace, according to figures released Tuesday morning.
U.S. home building rebounded in October and permits for future home construction jumped to a more than 12-year high, pointing to strength in the housing market amid lower mortgage rates.
The Commerce Department said housing starts increased 3.8% to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 1.314 million units last month, with single-family construction rising for a fifth straight month and activity in the volatile multi-family sector rebounding solidly.
Data for September was revised to show home building declining to a pace of 1.266 million units, instead of decreasing to a rate of 1.256 million units as previously reported.
Economists had forecast housing starts increasing to a pace of 1.320 million units in October.
Housing starts advanced 8.5% on a year-on-year basis in October. Building permits surged 5.0% to a rate of 1.461 million units in October, the highest level since May 2007. Permits were driven by the single-family housing segment, which increased 3.2% to the highest level since August 2007.
