US Housing Starts, Building Permits, and Completions All Drop in May

On Thursday, the US Census Bureau reported that privately‐owned housing starts in May were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 1,277,000. This is 5.5% below the revised April estimate of 1,352,000 and 19.3% below the May 2023 rate of 1,583,000. Single-family housing starts were at a rate of 982,000; this is 5.2% below the revised April figure of 1,036,000. The rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 278,000.

Building permits are the forward-looking portion of the report, and in May, privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits were at a SAAR of 1,386,000. This is 3.8% below the revised April rate of 1,440,000 and 9.5% below the May 2023 rate of 1,532,000. Single-family authorizations were at a rate of 949,000; this is 2.9% below the revised April figure of 977,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 382,000.

Privately‐owned housing completions in May were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,514,000. This is 8.4% below the revised April estimate of 1,652,000 but 1.0% above the May 2023 rate of 1,499,000. Single‐family housing completions were at a rate of 1,027,000; this is 8.5% below the revised April rate of 1,122,000. The rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 479,000.