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U.S. Single-Family Housing Starts Rise to Highest in a Decade

Contractors secure a wall section on a home under construction at the Toll Brothers Inc. Cantera at Gale Ranch housing development in San Ramon, California.

Contractors secure a wall section on a home under construction at the Toll Brothers Inc. Cantera at Gale Ranch housing development in San Ramon, California.

Photographer: David Paul Morris/
By

Groundbreaking on single-family homes proceeded in November at the strongest pace in a decade, driving U.S. housing starts to a faster-than-estimated rate, government figures showed Tuesday.

The latest results make it more likely that residential construction spending -- which subtracted from economic growth in the second and third quarters -- will add to the pace of U.S. expansion in the October-December period, which is already shaping up as a solid quarter.