Housing Starts Decreased to 1.256 million Annual Rate in May

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

The first graph shows single and multi-family housing starts since 2000 (including housing bubble).

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 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.

The third graph shows the month-to-month comparison for total starts between 2024 (blue) and 2025 (red).

Total starts were down 4.6% in May compared to May 2024. Year-to-date (YTD) starts are down 1.5% compared to the same period in 2024. Single family starts are down 7.1% YTD and multi-family up 14.5% YTD.

Multi-Family Housing Units Under Construction Remains Elevated

The fourth graph shows housing starts under construction, Seasonally Adjusted (SA).

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