After a decline in October, the annual rate for privately-owned housing starts in November rose to 17.5% or 2.12 million units, according to a report released by the U.S. Dept. of Commerce. Single-family housing starts are up 4.8 % from October to a rate of 1.81 million units, while starts for buildings with five or more units reached 277,000. The number of building permits issued, which can be an indicator of future building activity, rose 3 % from one year ago.

Regionally, the West posted the largest increase in housing starts when compared with one year earlier, climbing 21.6 %, while the construction pace in the Midwest was up 17.3 %. The rate for privately-owned housing starts also increased in the South to 16.2 % and in the Northeast to 12.4 %.