WASHINGTON—U.S. housing starts rebounded last month, signaling positive momentum for home builders trying to meet solid buyer demand.

Housing starts rose 8.3% in June from the prior month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.215 million, the Commerce Department said Wednesday.

Residential building permits, which can signal how much construction is in the pipeline, increased 7.4% to an annual pace of 1.254 million last month. That was the largest one-month jump since November 2015.

Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had expected a 6.4% increase for starts and a 2.6% rise for permits in June. Overall starts had declined the prior three months, and permits were down in both April and May.

Starts rose 6.3% in June for single-family construction, and increased 13.3% from May for multifamily construction. Permits last month were up 13.9% for buildings with multiple units and up 4.1% for single-family homes.

Housing-starts data are volatile from month to month and can be subject to large revisions. Looking beyond monthly volatility, starts in the first half of the year were up 3.9% from the same period in 2016. Permits during this period increased 6% from a year earlier.