Housing starts in the U.S. rebounded in the month of October, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Tuesday, although the report also showed a decrease in building permits.
The Commerce Department said housing starts jumped by 1.5 percent to an annual rate of 1.228 million in October after plunging by 5.5 percent to a revised rate of 1.210 million in September.
Economists had expected housing starts to climb to a rate of 1.225 million from the 1.201 million originally reported for the previous month.
The increase in housing starts reflected a significant rebound in multi-family starts, which soared by 10.3 percent to a rate of 363,000 in October after plummeting by 15.6 percent to a rate of 329,000 in September.
Partly offsetting the spike in multi-family starts, single-family starts slumped by 1.8 percent to a rate of 865,000 in October after falling by 1 percent to a rate of 881,000 in September.
Meanwhile, the report said building permits fell by 0.6 percent to an annual rate of 1.263 million in October after surging up by 1.7 percent to an upwardly revised 1.270 million in September.
Building permits, an indicator of future housing demand, had been expected to increase to 1.267 million from the 1.241 million originally reported for the previous month.
Single-family permits slid by 0.6 percent to a rate of 849,000, while multi-family permits dropped by 0.5 percent to a rate of 414,000.
On Monday, the National Association of Home Builders released a separate showing a substantial decrease in homebuilder confidence in the month of November.
The report said the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index plunged to 60 in November after inching up by one point to 68 in October. Economists had expected the index to edge down to 67.
With the much bigger than expected decrease, the housing market index dropped to its lowest level since hitting 59 in August of 2016.
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