According to the most recent residential construction report, despite challenges such as high lumber prices and material shortages, new housing starts increased.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts in May was 1.572 million, 3.6 percent higher than the revised April estimate of 1.517 million.
The most recent figure is also 50.3 percent higher than the rate of 1.046 million in May 2020.
Single-family housing starts totaled 1.098 million in May, a 4.2 percent increase from the revised April figure of 1.054 million. In May, the rate for units in buildings of five or more units was 465,000.
Housing permits fell 3% in May to a seasonally adjusted rate of 1.681 million, down from 1.733 million in April. The most recent permit rate, however, is 34.9 percent higher than the May 2020 rate of 1.246 million.
According to revised data, single-family permits fell 1.6 percent to 1.13 million from 1.148 million in April. In May, 494,000 authorizations for units in buildings with five or more units were issued.
“The trend since the onset of the pandemic has been notably higher single-family homebuilding and subdued multifamily construction,” Lawrence Yun, the National Association of Realtors chief economist, stated.
“That tilt is a proper response, given the limited single-family home inventory and what had been a deceleration in apartment rent growth.”
Here is a breakdown of starts and permits by region:
- Total starts in the Northeast fell 22.4 percent, while single-family starts fell 13.7 percent. Total permits decreased by 7.1 percent, while single-family permits decreased by 7.9 percent.
- Total starts in the Midwest increased by 29.9 percent, with single-family starts increasing by 16.6 percent. Permits fell 2.9 percent overall, with single-family permits falling 15.1 percent.
- Total starts in the South increased by 3.8 percent, while single-family starts increased by 2.8 percent. The total number of permits is down 2.3 percent, but single-family permits are up 4.5 percent.
- Total starts increased by 1.0 percent in the West, while single-family starts increased by 5.4 percent. Permits fell 3.1 percent overall, and single-family permits fell 6.4 percent.
