Housing starts were up slightly in May, according to the latest data from the Census Bureau (CB)
- Housing starts in May were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,572,000. This is up 3.6% when compared to last month and up 50.3% when compared to the same time last year.
- Single-family starts were at a seasonally adjusted rate of 1,054,000. This up 4.2% when compared to last month and up 49.8% compared to the same time last year.
Despite positive growth in housing starts, permits and completions were actually down in May…
- Building permits were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,681,000. This is down 3.0% from last month but is up 34.9% from the same time last year.
- Housing completions were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,368,000. This is down 4.1% from last month but is up 16.1% from the same time last year.
This is not the best news when earlier today NAR estimated that we are currently facing a 5.5 million home shortfall to meet current demand levels. As Matthew McConaughey would say, “You gotta pump those numbers up, those are rookie numbers in this racket.”