Housing starts rose 3.6% in May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.572 million units after falling in April, according to reuters.com. The rate was lower than economists’ expectations of 1.63 million units as expensive lumber and material shortages continue to impede builders’ ability to take advantage of a shortage of houses on the market.
Additionally, housing starts were up 50.3% compared with May 2020. Applications for building permits, a good indication of future activity, fell 3% to 1.681 million units in May but are up 34.9% compared with May 2020.
Single-family housing starts rose 4.2% to 1.098 million units, and multifamily starts rose 2.4% to 474,000 units.
A recent survey from the National Association of Home Builders showed confidence among single-family homebuilders fell to a 10-month low in June, which NAHB attributed to “higher costs and declining availability for softwood lumber and other building materials,” noting it was driving up prices of new homes and slowing homebuilding’s strong pace.
