The U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development have recently announced new residential construction statistics for May 2014. According to the data, building permits for privately-owned housing units in May were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 991,000, down 6.4 percent from the revised April rate of 1,059,000, and down 1.9 percent from the May 2013 rate of 1,010,000. Building permits for single-family housing in May were estimated at 619,000, up 3.7 percent from the revised April rate of 597,000. Building permits for units in buildings with five units or more in May were at a rate of 347,000.
Privately-owned housing starts were at an adjusted rate of 1,001,000 in May, down 6.5 percent from April’s revised estimate of 1,071,000, but up 9.4 percent from the May 2013 rate of 915,000. Single-family housing starts were at a rate of 625,000 in May, down 5.9 percent from the revised April rate of 664,000. Starts for units in buildings with five units or more had a May rate of 366,000.
As for housing completions, the May rate for privately-owned housing was at a seasonally adjusted annual estimate of 897,000, an increase of 6.8 percent from April’s revised rate of 840,000, and up a significant 24.8 percent from the May 2013 estimate of 719,000. Single-family housing completions were at a rate of 618,000 for May, putting it 2.1 percent above April’s revised rate of 605,000. The housing completion rate for units in buildings with five units or more was at 269,000 in May.
For more information, click here to read the full U.S. Census Bureau/U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development Press Release for May 2014.
