- Home starts slid to 1.28 million, below all but one estimate
- Decline in building permits point to softer construction ahead
New home construction in the US slumped in May to the slowest pace in four years, as higher-for-longer interest rates sap the housing industry’s momentum from earlier this year.
Housing starts decreased 5.5% to a 1.28 million annualized rate last month, according to government data released Thursday. The figure was below all but one estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists.
Building permits, which point to future construction, fell 3.8% to a 1.39 million annual rate, also the weakest since June 2020. The declines in starts and permits were broad across multifamily and single-family units. Authorized permits for single-family homes dropped for a fourth straight month to the slowest pace in a year.