U.S. housing starts fall 10.6% in October

WASHINGTON, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) -- U.S. construction of new homes unexpectedly plunged by 10.6 percent in October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 529,000, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday.

The figure in October, much lower than the 600,000 expected by economists, was also 30.7 percent below the revised year-ago level.

For October, single-family housing starts fell 6.8 percent to an annual rate of 476,000 units.

The once-sizzling U.S. housing market has cooled off significantly since 2006 and slid into the worst slump two decades. The severe housing downturn and a persisting credit crunch has been a major drag on the overall economy.