Single-family starts up ever-so-slightly in May

A decline in multi-family construction brought total U.S. housing starts down 0.3% in May, though activity in single-family starts ramped up over the month.

Total privately owned housing starts came in at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,164,000 in May, down from the revised April estimate of 1,167,000. However, this is still 9.5% above May 2015's rate.

In the single-family market, starts came in at a rate of 764,000, up 0.3% from the revised April estimate of 762,000.

For buildings with five units or more, May's rate was 396,000,

What's coming down the pipeline looks promising, however. May's building permits clocked in at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,138,000, up 0.7% over the revised April rate of 1,130,000. However, that's 10.1% below the May 2015 estimate of 1,266,000.

Regionally, the Northeast took the biggest hit in housing starts activity, declining 33.3% over the month and 42.7% over the year.

The West is the region that picked up the pace for the Midwest (-2.5%) and South (+1.5%), increasing 14.4% over the month.