Builders began work on more U.S. homes than forecast in September on rising demand for apartments and condominiums as more Americans become renters.

Housing starts climbed 15 percent to 658,000 houses at an annual rate, the most since April 2010, Commerce Department figures showed today in Washington. The median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey called for a 590,000 pace. Beginning construction of multifamily dwellings surged to the highest since October 2008.  Read more