Housing starts dropped 0.9% in May from April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,269,000, 4.7% below the May 2018 rate of 1,332,000, the Census Bureau and HUD reported Tuesday.

Single‐family housing starts in May were at a rate of 820,000, 6.4% below the revised April figure of 876,000 and 12.5% below a year earlier. The May rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 436,000, a 13.8% increase both sequentially and year-over-year. Starts fell drastically in the Northeast (-45.5% and -32.4%, respectively), the Midwest (-8.0% and 33.1%), and the West, (-2.5% and 0.6%).

Building permits in May were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,294,000, This is 0.3% above the revised April rate of 1,290,000 but 0.5 below the May 2018 rate of 1,301,000. Single‐family authorizations in May were at a rate of 815,000, 3.7% above the revised April figure of 786,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 442,000 in May, down 3.7% from April but 4.2% ahead of a year earlier.

Housing completions in May were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,213,000, 9.5% below the revised April estimate of 1,340,000 and is 2.8% below the May 2018 rate of 1,248,000. Single‐family housing completions in May were at a rate of 890,000, 5.0% below the revised April rate of 937,000. The May rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 319,000.

Mike Fratantoni, SVP and chief economist for the Mortgage Bankers Association, reacted:“Total housing starts changed little in May, but single-family starts dropped. The decrease in single-family construction was led by a decline in the Midwest, which was likely impacted by numerous flooding events in that region. Multifamily starts jumped almost 14% nationally, as rental demand remains strong.

"The current trend in permits suggests that the same pace of construction is likely to continue, without either acceleration or declines. Builders remain constrained by a lack of skilled labor, shown by the still-record level of job openings in the construction sector.”