US Housing Starts, Permits, and Completions All Increase Month-Over-Month in May

The US Census Bureau on Tuesday (6-20-23) reported that privately‐owned housing starts in May were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 1,631,000. This is 21.7% above the revised April estimate of 1,340,000 and 5.7% above the May 2022 rate of 1,543,000. Single-family housing starts were at a rate of 997,000; this is 18.5% above the revised April figure of 841,000. The rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 624,000.

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 1,491,000. This is 5.2% above the revised April rate of 1,417,000 but 12.7 below the May 2022 rate of 1,708,000. Single-family authorizations were at a rate of 897,000; this is 4.8% above the revised April figure of 856,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 542,000.

Privately‐owned housing completions in May were at a SAAR of 1,518,000. This is 9.5% above the revised April estimate of 1,386,000 and 5.0% above the May 2022 rate of 1,386,000. Single‐family housing completions were at a rate of 1,009,000; this is 3.9% above the revised April rate of 971,000. The rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 493,000.