Washington, Nov 17 (EFE).- The number of new housing starts in the United States fell 0.3 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 628,000 units, but applications for building permits surged 10.9 percent, the Commerce Department said Thursday.
Regarded as an indicator of future activity, permit applications reached an annualized rate of 653,000, the highest level since March.
October's decline in housing starts was smaller than expected by analysts, who forecast the annualized rate would fall as low as 605,000 units.
The Commerce Department report, however, also revised downward the number of housing starts in September, from 658,000 to 630,000.
Foreclosures, falling home prices and persistent high unemployment continue to hamper the U.S. construction sector, which played a major role in past economic recoveries.
Economists say a healthy housing industry depends on reaching a level of around 1.2 million new units a year.
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