by Calculated Risk on 6/17/2016 08:38:00 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 1,164,000. This is 0.3 percent below the revised April estimate of 1,167,000, but is 9.5 percent above the May 2015 rate of 1,063,000.

Single-family housing starts in May were at a rate of 764,000; this is 0.3 percent above the revised April figure of 762,000. The May rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 396,000

Building Permits:
Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in May were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,138,000. This is 0.7 percent above the revised April rate of 1,130,000, but is 10.1 percent below the May 2015 estimate of 1,266,000.

Single-family authorizations in May were at a rate of 726,000; this is 2.0 percent below the revised April figure of 741,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 381,000 in May.
emphasis added

Click on graph for larger image.

The first graph shows single and multi-family housing starts for the last several years.

Multi-family starts (red, 2+ units) decreased in May compared to April.  Multi-family starts are up 8% year-over-year.

Single-family starts (blue) increased in May, and are up 10% year-over-year.



The second graph shows total and single unit starts since 1968.

 The second graph shows the huge collapse following the housing bubble, and then - after moving sideways for a couple of years - housing is now recovering (but still historically low),

Total housing starts in May were close to expectations, and combined starts for March and April were revised up slightly.  I'll have more later ...