Builders broke ground in November on the most houses in over a year, a sign that the market is stabilizing heading into 2012. Starts increased 9.3 percent to a 685,000 annual rate, exceeding the highest estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News and the highest level since April 2010, Commerce Department figures showed today in Washington. Building permits, a proxy for future construction, also climbed to a more than one- year high. The increase in construction last month was led by a jump in work on multifamily units like apartments and townhouses as the rental market improves. The building of single-family ... (full story)