Total starts fell to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.164 million in May but remain up 9.5 percent over the May 2015 mark.
Single-family home starts rose 0.3 percent to a rate of 764,000 and are up 10.1 percent year over year. Multi-family starts rose 1.3 percent in May to a rate of 396,000 and are up 10 percent year over year.
Building permits, a good barometer of how the homebuilding industry is trending, rose 0.7 percent during May to a rate of 1.138 million. Permits are 10.1 percent below the year-ago estimate.
After four months of no movement, builder confidence in the housing market is up this month, according to the National Association of Home Builders. The NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index rose two points to a 60. Any reading above a 50 indicates most home builders believe market conditions are good.
“Builders in many markets across the nation are reporting higher traffic and more committed buyers at their job sites,” NAHB chairman Ed Brady said in a prepared statement. “However, our members are also relating ongoing concerns regarding the shortage of buildable lots and labor and noting pockets of softness in scattered markets.”
“Rising home sales, an improving economy and the fact that the HMI gauge measuring future sales expectations is running at an eight-month high are all positive factors indicating that the housing market should continue to move forward in the second half of 2016,” added NAHB chief economist Robert Dietz.
