U.S. custom home builders began construction on houses at an annual rate of 1.67 million by the end of last year. The figure represented a 5.8% increase from the past month’s numbers, as per the report released by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Meanwhile, the permits for new houses happened at an annual rate of 1.71 million, which marks a 4.5% increase. Housing starts increased by 5%, while permits marked a rise of 17%. It was by far the highest permits and housing starts recorded since 2006.

Both of these numbers were higher than the figures expected by industry analysts, which reflected a growth in the single family custom home sector. Meanwhile, economists anticipated housing starts to happen at a rate of 1.56 million while building permits to occur at 1.61 million.

The growth in this sector propelled the increase in building permits and housing starts. In terms of months, single family starts increased by 12% while permits were up 7.8%. Meanwhile, multifamily constructions dropped by 15.2% while permits in at least five units decreased by 2%. Permits for building duplexes, triplexes, as well as quadplexes fell by 11.5%.