US Housing Starts Surge in October

Homebuilding activity in the United States rose at a pace faster than expected during the month of October, data by the US Department of Commerce showed on Thursday.

This comes as the American housing market remains supported by record-low mortgage rates.

Housing starts grew by 4.9% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.530 million units last month.

On an annual basis, homebuilding rose by 14.2%.

Meanwhile, building permits remained unchanged at their highest level in 13.5 years, at 1.545 million units in October, its highest level since March 2007.