Housing starts fell -9.8% MoM and -4.6% YoY to 1.256 million in May, below expectations of a smaller drop to 1.360 million. April starts were revised up slightly to 1.392 million from 1.361 million in the first estimate.

• Single-family starts were mostly unchanged at 0.4% MoM while multi-family starts crashed -30.4% MoM to 316k.
• Through the first five months of the year, starts are down -1.5% YoY compared to the same period last year.
• Building permits dropped -2.0% MoM -1.0% YoY to 1.393 million, below expectations of a small decline to 1.430 million and the lowest total since June 2020.
• Single-family permits issued are down -2.7% MoM and -6.4% YoY to the lowest since April 2023.
• Through the first five months of the year, permits are down -4.7% YoY compared to the same period last year.
• Housing units under construction dropped -1.4% MoM and -13.7% YoY to the lowest since June 2021. On the other hand, total completed homes increased 5.4% MoM after dropping in April.