by Calculated Risk on 6/18/2025 08:32:00 AM
From the Census Bureau: Permits, Starts and Completions
Housing Starts:
Privately-owned housing starts in May were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,256,000. This is 9.8 percent below the revised April estimate of 1,392,000 and is 4.6 percent below the May 2024 rate of 1,316,000. Single-family housing starts in May were at a rate of 924,000; this is 0.4 percent above the revised April figure of 920,000. The May rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 316,000.Building Permits:
Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in May were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of
1,393,000. This is 2.0 percent below the revised April rate of 1,422,000 and is 1.0 percent below the May 2024 rate
of 1,407,000. Single-family authorizations in May were at a rate of 898,000; this is 2.7 percent below the revised
April figure of 923,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 444,000 in May.
emphasis added
Click on graph for larger image.
The first graph shows single and multi-family housing starts since 2000.
Multi-family starts (blue, 2+ units) decreased sharply month-over-month in May. Multi-family starts were up 4.1% year-over-year.
Single-family starts (red) increased slightly in May and were down 7.3% year-over-year.
The second graph shows single and multi-family housing starts since 1968.
This shows the huge collapse following the housing bubble, and then the eventual recovery.
Total housing starts in May were below expectations; however, starts in March and April were revised up, combined.
I’ll have more later …
