US: Privately-owned housing units in May were at 1,168,000

Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in May were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,168,000, the US Census Bureau reported on Thursday.

Key highlights:

• This is 4.9 below the revised April rate of 1,228,000 and is 0.8  percent below the May 2016 rate of 1,178,000.
• Single-family authorizations in May were at a rate of 779,000; this is 1.9 percent (±1.0 percent) below the revised April figure of 794,000.
• Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 358,000 in May.
• Privately-owned housing starts in May were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,092,000. This is 5.5 percent below the revised April estimate of 1,156,000 and is 2.4 percent the May 2016 rate of 1,119,000.
• Single-family housing starts in May were at a rate of 794,000; this is 3.9 percent below the revised April figure of 826,000.