Housing starts were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.549 million in May, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. This is 14.4% below the revised April estimate of 1.810 million and is 3.5% below the May 2021 rate of 1.605 million.
Housing starts were mixed across the country, increasing in the Northeast (14.6%) and the Midwest (1.9%), but decreasing in the South (-20.7%), and the West (-17.8%).
New building permits were 1.695 million in May, -7.0% below the previous month but 0.2% above the May 2021 rate of 1.691 million. Single-family building permits decreased 5.5% from the revised April figure.
Housing completions were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.465 million in May. This is 9.1% above the revised April estimate of 1.343 million and is 9.3% above the May 2021 rate of 1.340 million.
Read the Census release.
