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June 16, 2026US HOUSING STARTS AND BUILDING PERMITS, MAY 2026 Month over month (May 2026 vs April 2026, seasonally adjusted annualized rates)
US housing starts were down 15.4% from April to May, declining to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 1,177,000 units- the slowest pace since May 2020. There were decreases in single unit starts (-1.9%) and in multi-unit dwelling starts (-40.2%).
The number of residential building permits were down 0.7% to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 1,413,000 units. Permits were up for single units (+0.6%) and down for multiple units (-2.8%).
Year over year (May 2026 vs May 2025)
Compared to the same month last year, US housing starts were down (-8.7%), with decreases in multiple unit starts (-14.2%) and in single unit starts (-6.7%).
Residential building permits were down (-0.2%) year-over-year, with decreases in single units (-1.8%) and increases in multi-unit structures (+2.5%).
Year-to-date (January-May 2026 vs January-May 2025)
In the first five months of 2026, US housing starts were down 0.8%, with declines in single unit starts (-6.4%) and increases in multi-unit starts (+13.4%).
Residential building permits were down 1.8% year-to-date, with decreases in single units (-5.9%) and increases in multi-unit structures (+6.0%).
Note: multi-unit refers to structures with 2-4 units as well as structures were more than 5 units.
Source: US Census Bureau New Residential Construction
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