Housing starts rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.323 million in October, 25.5% above the revised September rate of 1.054 million and 4.6% above the October 2015 rate.
Housing activity increased in all regions, led by strong jumps in the Northeast (44.8%) and the Midwest (44.1%). Activity in the West increased by 23.2% while the South rose 17.9%.
New building permits also rose during the month, increasing 0.3% to 1.129 million. Permits were up 4.6% from the October 2015 rate.
Housing completions were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.055 million, up 5.5% from the revised September estimate and 7.2% above the October 2015 rate.
Read the Census release.