U.S. home builders started construction on homes at a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 1.52 million in October, representing a 0.7% decrease from the previous month, the U.S. Census Bureau reported Wednesday. Compared with October 2020, housing starts were up 0.4%. The pace of permitting for new housing units increased in October, however. Permitting for new homes occurred at a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 1.65 million, up 4% from September and 3.4% from a year ago. Economists polled by MarketWatch had expected housing starts to occur at a median pace of 1.63 million and building permits to come in at a median pace of 1.58 million.
