The beleaguered U.S. housing market got some mixed news Tuesday as October construction starts rose more than expected but building permits issued in the month hit a 14-year low.
The U.S. Commerce Department said overall housing construction starts last month came in at an eight-month high of 1.23 million units. That was up from September's 1.19 million. Economists had been projecting a decrease in October starts to 1.17 million homes.
Single-family home construction remained weak, however, as starts dropped for a seventh straight month, declining by 7.3 per cent in October from September. Starts in the volatile apartment sector rose by 44.4 per cent.
While overall starts increased, the number of building permits issued last month slowed to the weakest pace since July 1993. The U.S. government said permits declined more than six per cent to an annualized rate of 1.8 million units. Market watchers had been projecting an annual rate of 1.2 million.
The U.S. housing market has been battered by fallout from the subprime mortgage sector, including weak sales and stagnant prices. The market has seen rising levels of defaults that are adding to a rising level of unsold houses.
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