Housing starts decreased to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.572 million in May, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The increase was 3.6% above the revised April estimate of 1.517 million and 50.3% above the May 2020 rate of 1.046 million.
Housing starts were mixed across the country, rising in the Midwest (29.2%), West (1.0%), and South (3.8%) but falling in the Northeast (22.4%)
New building permits were 1.681 million in May, 3.0% lower from the previous month but 34.9% higher year-over-year. Single-family building permits decreased 1.6% from the revised April figure.
Housing completions were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.368 million. This is 4.1% below the revised April estimate of 1.426 million but is 16.1% above the May 2020 rate of 1.178 million.
Read the Census release.
