On Tuesday, the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development jointly announced the following new residential construction statistics for May 2023:

 Building Permits

  • Privately‐owned housing units authorized by building permits in May were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,491,000.
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  • This is 5.2% above the revised April rate of 1,417,000.
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  • This is 12.7% below the May 2022 rate of 1,708,000.
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  • Single‐family authorizations in May were at a rate of 897,000.
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  • This is 4.8% above the revised April figure of 856,000.
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  • Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 542,000 in May.

Housing Starts

  • Privately‐owned housing starts in May were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,631,000.
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  • This is 21.7% above the revised April estimate of 1,340,000.
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  • This is 5.7% above the May 2022 rate of 1,543,000.
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  • Single‐family housing starts in May were at a rate of 997,000
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  • This is 18.5% above the revised April figure of 841,000.
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  • The May rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 624,000.

Housing Completions

  • Privately‐owned housing completions in May were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,518,000.
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  • This is 9.5% above the revised April estimate of 1,386,000.
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  • This is 5.0% above the May 2022 rate of 1,446,000.
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  • Single‐family housing completions in May were at a rate of 1,009,000; this is 3.9% above the revised April rate of 971,000.
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  • The May rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 493,000.

Sources: nfib.com