May Housing Starts See Slight Slide But are Up 9.5% Year-Over-Year

The U.S. Department of Commerce said privately-owned housing starts in May were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,164,000, 0.3% below the revised April estimate of 1,167,000, but 9.5% above the May 2015 rate of 1,063,000. Single-family housing starts in May were 764,000, 0.3% above the revised April figure of 762,000.

The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), Washington, D.C., said on a three-month moving average basis, single-family starts ticked down due to the elevated construction pace recorded in February. While NAHB expects growth in single-family construction due to favorable demographics, lot supplies are a growing challenge holding back production, particularly in markets in the West and Northeast.