EmailHousing starts declined 4.8% in May to 708,000, but that drop came after April starts were revised up 3.8% to 744,000. The Briefing.com consensus pegged new starts at 719,000. Since November 2011, homebuilders have averaged roughly 714,000 starts each month.
Single-family starts increased 3.2% from 500,000 in April to 516,000 in May. That is the most single-family starts since December 2011 when 520,000 units were started. Multifamily starts fell from 244,000 in April to 192,000 in May. Multifamily construction is notoriously volatile and the May decline does not suggest a change in trend in the multifamily sector. The number of units under construction rose 1.5% in May to 467,000 from 460,000. These construction numbers have steadily improved since reaching an all-time low of 413,000 homes in August 2011. Building permit issuances increased from 723,000 in April to 780,000 in May. That was the largest number of permits issued since September 2008 and was well above the consensus estimate of 725,000.
