U.S. Housing Starts Decline 3.8 Percent in May

The seasonally adjusted annual rate for privately owned housing starts declined to1.96 million units in May, according to a report released by the U.S. Dept. of Commerce.

May's construction pace was down 3.8 percent from a year ago. Single-family housing starts decreased 7.6 percent from May 2005, to a rate of 1.59 million units, while starts for buildings with five or more units increased 14.6 percent to 321,000.

The number of building permits issued, which can be an indicator of future building activity, declined 8.5 percent from one year earlier to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.93 million permits.

Last month, the South was the only region posting an increase in housing starts, where starts climbed 4 percent.

The rate for privately owned housing starts declined 1.1 percent in the Northeast, 4.2 percent in the West, and 23.2 percent in the Midwest.

**Taken From The California Association of Realtors Bulletin, dated June 22, 2006.