The US Department of Commerce reported Thursday that housing starts in October were at annual rate of 628,000 units, a 0.3 percent drop from the September estimate, but were still 16.5 percent above the October 2010 rate of 539,000.
Meanwhile, housing units authorized by building permits increased 10.9 percent from September to October to an annual rate of 653,000 units, and were also up 17.7 percent from October 2010.
Housing completions fell in October, declining 6.7 percent to 584,000 from September and were 2.8 percent lower than the October 2010 estimate of 601,000.