U.S. housing permits hit 12-year high

U.S. new-home construction rose in October with the highest level of permits since 2007 as single-family starts registered the strongest pace since the beginning of the year.
Residential starts advanced 3.8% to a 1.31 million annualized rate, in line with the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists, after a revised 1.27 million pace in the prior month, according to Commerce Department figures released Tuesday. Permits, a proxy for future construction, rose 5% to a 1.46 million pace,