WASHINGTON, Oct 17 - U.S. housing starts rose unexpectedly in September, the government said on Friday, as relatively low mortgage interest rates kept their allure for home buyers. Ground-breaking for new homes jumped 3.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.888 million units in the month from an upwardly revised 1.826 million pace in August. Starts beat the expectations of analysts polled by , who were expecting a 1.82 million unit pace. It was the second-highest rate this year and a clear signal the housing market remains strong. Starts may have been helped by a dip in mortgage interest rates in September, a trend that has reversed in the past couple of weeks on hopes for faster economic growth. Permits, an indicator of builder confidence, fell 2.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.86 million units from an upwardly revised 1.901 million clip in August. Starts rose in all regions of the country except the South, where they fell 1.3 percent. Ground-breaking in the Midwest jumped to the highest rate since November 1978. //