New home construction in the US cratered in May, with housing starts dropping 15.4% from April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.177 million units.
The data, released by the US Census Bureau, shows starts falling not just month-over-month but also 8.7% compared to the same period last year. April’s revised figure of 1.392 million already reflected a housing market under pressure.
What the numbers actually show
Permits slipped a modest 0.7% to 1.413 million SAAR. Single-family permits actually ticked up 0.6% to 886,000, suggesting builders haven’t completely lost faith in demand for standalone homes.
Single-family starts came in at 882,000, a 1.9% decline from April. Multifamily starts, which cover apartment buildings and condos, totaled just 284,000.
