Housing Starts Tumble 4.8% in May

June 22, 2012
The U.S. Census Bureau reported that privately-owned housing starts in May were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 708,000, 4.8 percent below the revised April estimate

The U.S. Census Bureau reported that privately-owned housing starts in May were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 708,000, 4.8 percent below the revised April estimate of 744,000, but 28.5% above the May 2011 rate of 551,000. Single-family housing starts in May were at a rate of 516,000, 3.2% percent above the revised April figure of 500,000. The May rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 179,000.

Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in May were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 780,000, 7.9% above the revised April rate of 723,000 and 25% above May 2011 estimate of 624,000.

Single-family authorizations in May were at a rate of 494,000, 4% above the revised April figure of 475,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 266,000 in May.