Builders broke ground last month on a seasonally adjusted 555,000 units, a 3.9 percent rise from October, the Commerce Department reported Thursday.
Even with the gain, housing starts are just 16 percent above the 477,000 unit pace from April 2009 - the lowest point on records dating back to 1959.
They are down 76 percent from their peak in January 2006, and 45 percent below the 1 million annual rate that analysts say is consistent with a healthy housing market.
