Housing Starts Soften As Expected in May

Nationwide housing starts and building permits stalled in May following the expiration of the federal home buyer tax credit program, according to the U.S. Commerce Department. New-home production declined 10 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 593,000 units, the slowest pace since December 2009, while permit issuance slowed 5.9 percent to a rate of 574,000 units, its slowest pace since May 2009.

The decline in housing starts in May was entirely on the single-family side, where the government's tax credits for first-time and repeat buyers had the greatest impact in the previous months. In that segment, starts fell 17.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 468,000 units, their slowest pace since May of 2009.

New Privately Owned Housing Units Started

(Thousands of units, seasonally adjusted annual rate)

Period Total 1 Unit 5 Units or more Northeast Midwest South West May 2010₁ 593 468 112 75 107 288 123 April 2010₂ 659 565 81 80 102 366 111 March 2010₂ 634 535 91 66 93 339 136 February 2010 605 527 62 72 105 285 143 January 2010 612 511 94 70 91 326 125 May 2009 550 406 135 60 79 275 136

1-Preliminary; 2-Revised; Note: Detail may not add to total because of rounding.

Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census