The Commerce Department reported on Thursday the housing starts rose by 1.2 percent m-o-m in November to a seasonally adjusted annual pace of 1.547 million (the highest since February), while building permits surged by 6.2 percent m-o-m to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.639 (the highest level since September 2006).

Economists had forecast housing starts increasing to a pace of 1.530 million units last month and building permits rising to a pace of 1.550 million units.

Data for October was revised to show homebuilding growing to a pace of 1.528 million units, instead of increasing at a rate of 1.530 million units as previously reported, and permits dropping to a pace of 1.544 million units, instead of being flat m-o-m at a rate of 1.545 million units as previously reported.

According to the report, permits for single-family homes, the largest segment of the market, rose 1.3 percent m-o-m in November, while approvals for the multi-family homes segment surged 19.2 percent m-o-m.

In the meantime, groundbreaking on single-family homes rose 0.4 percent m-o-m in November, while housing starts for the multi-family climbed 4.0 percent m-o-m.