New residential construction in the U.S. unexpectedly increased in the month of November, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Tuesday.
The report said housing starts jumped 3.3 percent to an annual rate of 1.297 million in November from a revised 1.256 million in October. Economists had expected housing starts to drop by 3.7 percent.
The unexpected increase in housing starts primarily reflected a jump in new single-family home construction, which surged up by 5.3 percent.
Meanwhile, the report also showed a decrease in building permits, an indicator of future housing demand.
Building permits fell by 1.4 percent to an annual rate of 1.298 million from 1.316 million in the previous month.
An increase in permits for single-family homes was more than offset by a steep drop in permits for multi-family homes.
Compared to the same month a year ago, housing starts were up by 12.9 percent, while building permits were up by 3.4 percent.
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