By Greg Robb
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - New construction of U.S. houses expanded for the third straight month in September, the Commerce Department estimated Tuesday. Starts rose 0.3% in September to a seasonally adjusted 610,000 annualized units, much stronger than the 578,000 pace expected by economists surveyed by MarketWatch. This is the highest level of starts since April. Starts of new single-family homes rose by 4.4% to 452,000 in September, while starts of large apartment units fell 9.7% to 158,000. Building permits, a leading indicator of housing construction, fell 5.6% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 539,000. This is the lowest level of permits since April 2009.
