Privately-owned housing starts in May were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,269,000 -0.9% below the revised April estimate of 1,281,000 and 4.7% below the May 2018 rate of 1,332,000. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, single-family housing starts in May were at a rate of 820,000, -6.4 % below the revised April figure of 876,000.
According to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), single-family permits, rose 3.7% in May (815,000 units) compared to April, but have registered a -5.8% loss thus far in 2019 compared to last year. This is in line with the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index, which held builder confidence in the market for newly-built single-family homes steady at 64 points in June but remains lower on a YOY basis.
