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US Housing Starts Unexpectedly Rise to a Six-Month High
US new-home construction unexpectedly surged in November to a six-month high, benefiting from a dearth of existing houses on the market and suggesting the crunch in residential real estate is easing. Residential starts increased 14.8% last month to a 1.56 million annualized rate, government data showed Tuesday. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for a 1.36 million pace. Construction of single-family houses jumped 18% to the highest level since April 2022, while starts of multifamily projects increased 6.9%. Permit applications, an indicator of future construction, decreased to a 1.46 ... (full story)