WASHINGTON ( AP) — Construction of single-family homes cooled off slightly in January after surging in the final month last year. But a rebound in volatile apartment construction kept builders busy and pushed housing starts to their highest level in more than three years.

The Commerce Department said today that builders broke ground on a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 699,000 homes in January. That’s up 1.5 percent from December and the highest level since October 2008.

Construction began on 508,000 single-family homes lastmonth.That’sa1percent drop from December and the first decline in four months.

Still, December single-family homes were revised up strongly to show builders started 513,000 homes — a 12 percent gain from November.

Apartment building, a more volatile category, jumped 14.4 percent. Building permits, a gauge of future construction, rose 0.7 percent.

Single- family home construction rose in each of the final three months of last year, bringing the pace of those starts to the highest level since April 2010. The modest but steady gains helped boost confidence among builders after the worst year for single-family home construction on record.

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