Housing Starts Rise 5.3% in November

Housing starts rose 5.3 percent in November, and 17.5 percent compared with the same month last year, according to a Commerce Department report, baffling some housing-industry analysts who had predicted that housing starts would level off or decline slightly.

Permits for new construction climbed as well, rising 2.5 percent in the month and 3 percent from the same month in 2004, according to the government report.

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