Total housing starts in the US posted a -0.9% decrease in May, to 1.269 million units, compared to an upwardly revised April estimate of 1.281 million units, according to the joint dataย release Tuesday from the US Census Bureau and HUD.
Relative to May 2018, total starts are -4.7% below the annual pace of 1.332 million units.ย
Single-family production in May posted a monthly decline, decreasing -6.4% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 820,000. Single-family starts in April were revised up to 876,000 units. The three-month moving average for single-family in May is 843,000 units.ย
On a year-to-date basis, single-family starts are -5.1% lower as of May relative to the first five months of 2018. Single-family permits rose +3.7% in May (815,000 units) compared to April but have registered a -5.8% loss thus far in 2019 compared to last year. This is in line with the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index, which held builder confidence in the market for newly-built single-family homes steady at 64 inย Juneย but remains lower on a year-over-year basis.
Multifamily starts (2+ unit production) posted an increase of +10.9% in May to a 449,000 annual rate compared to April. After a slow start to the year, multifamily development is moving closer to our forecast of leveling-off conditions. On a year-to-date basis, multifamily 5+ unit production is down -5.2% thus far in 2019, while multifamily 5+ unit permitting is trending higher with an increase of +2.9% relative to the first five months of 2018.