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Construction · Economy · Housing · Real Estate
Privately-owned housing starts in the U.S. plummeted 15.4% in May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,177,000, significantly below the revised April estimate of 1,392,000 and 8.7% below May 2025 levels, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
This sharp decline reflects a broad contraction in residential construction activity. Single-family housing starts also decreased, falling 1.9% from April's revised figure to 882,000 units.
Furthermore, privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits, a key forward-looking indicator, experienced a 0.7% dip from April's revised rate to 1,413,000, and were 0.2% below the May 2025 rate. While single-family authorizations saw a slight 0.6% increase to 886,000, the overall trend for permits remains subdued.
Housing completions also registered significant declines, dropping 8.1% from April and a substantial 14.2% from May 2025, reaching an annual rate of 1,313,000. Single-family completions mirrored this trend, decreasing 1.6% to 872,000.
The data indicates a sustained slowdown across all stages of the housing construction pipeline.
