U.S. housing starts, permits rise in September

WASHINGTON — U.S. housing starts rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.42 million in September, the U.S. Census Bureau reports, up 1.9 percent from August’s activity. The growth was driven by an 8.5 percent rise in single-family starts, particularly in the Northeast, as multi-family starts declined. The value of building permits rose by more than five percent to a SAAR of 1.55 million. Economists predicted a rate of 1.45 million units for housing starts and 1.52 million units for permits.