US Housing Starts Rise, but Underlying Trend Weak

US Housing Starts Rise, but Underlying Trend Weak
Development and construction continues on a large scale housing project of over 600 homes in Oceanside, California, on June 25, 2018. Mike Blake/Reuters
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WASHINGTON—U.S. homebuilding rose in October amid a rebound in multi-family housing projects, but construction of single-family homes fell for a second straight month, suggesting the housing market remained mired in weakness as mortgage rates march higher.

Other details of the report published by the Commerce Department on Nov. 20 were also soft. Building permits declined last month and homebuilding completions were the fewest in a year. Housing starts increased 1.5 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.228 million units last month.