Number of Building Permits Issued in the US at Five-Year High

Up 6.2 percent in October

More applications for home construction were issued in October than at any time in the past five years, a sign the U.S. residential real-estate market is gaining momentum heading into 2014.

Building permits increased 6.2 percent in October to a 1.03 million annualized rate, the most since June 2008, after a September pace of 974,000, figures from the Commerce Department showed today in Washington. The median estimate of 47 economists surveyed by Bloomberg was for a 930,000 rate. Figures for housing starts, which usually accompany the permits data, are delayed until Dec. 18 because last month's government shutdown prevented the agency from gathering the data in time.