The US Housing and Urban Development announced the new residential construction statistics for May 2009. Improvement is appearing, but compared to last year, the numbers are still low. Both new housing starts and building permits were up compared with the previous month, but nowhere near the levels seen last year.

New Building Permits

Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in May were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 518,000. This is 4.0 percent (±1.7%) above the revised April rate of 498,000, but is 47.0 percent (±2.1%) below the May 2008 estimate of 978,000.

Single-family authorizations in May were at a rate of 408,000; this is 7.9 percent (±1.5%) above the revised April figure of 378,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 92,000 in May.

New Housing Starts

Privately-owned housing starts in May were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 532,000. This is 17.2 percent (±14.4%) above the revised April estimate of 454,000, but is 45.2 percent (±5.8%) below the May 2008 rate of 971,000. This increase is the best seen in 3 months.

Single-family housing starts in May were at a rate of 401,000; this is 7.5 percent (±14.2%)* above the revised April figure of 373,000. The May rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 124,000.

New Housing Completions

Privately-owned housing completions in May were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 811,000. This is 3.3 percent (±20.6%) below the revised April estimate of 839,000 and is 28.8 percent (±11.1%) below the May 2008 rate of 1,139,000.

Single-family housing completions in May were at a rate of 491,000; this is 9.4 percent (±13.8%)* below the revised April figure of 542,000. The May rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 314,000.

Look for a Mortgage?

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