Housing starts and building permits decline in May

The Census Bureau reported this morning that May housing starts fell by 3.3 percent compared to April numbers. Privately-owned housing starts in May were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 975,000 compared to the revised April estimate of 1,008,000. Compared to May 2007, starts declined 32.1 percent. Single-family housing starts in May were at a rate of 674,000, or 1.0 percent below the April figure of 681,000. The May rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 280,000. Building permits – an indicator of future starts – also declined in May. Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in May were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 969,000, which is 1.3 percent below the revised April rate of 982,000 and 36.3 percent below the revised May 2007 estimate. Single-family building permit authorizations in May were at a rate of 623,000, or 4.0 percent below the April figure of 649,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 314,000 in May.

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