Total new home construction was up 0.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted rate of 610,000 last month, compared to 608,000 in August, as reported in CNN Money. The data is also up 4.1 percent compared to September 2009.

This data is much higher than economists’ expectations, which had predicted a rate of 579,000 housing starts for September.

At the same time, permits for future building went down to their lowest levels in more than a year. This is likely because of the large number of foreclosure properties on the market, as well as continued insecurity regarding the economy and job availability.

Total permits in September were 539,000, which is a 5.6 percent decrease in August. Expectations had this number at 565,000.

Housing starts for single-family homes increased 4.4 percent in September, compared to August, and reached a four-month record high of 452,000. Multi-family home building decreased 6.8 percent to 150,000 last month.

- Jill Kipnis, Move Trends Editor
Move.com