May 2012 housing starts fell 4.8 percent to 708,000 from a revised April estimate of 744,000, according to U.S. Department of Commerce construction data from Virginia Tech's College of Natural Resources. However, housing starts in May are up 28.5 percent from May 2011.
On a positive note, single-family home starts increased 3.2 percent to 516,000 in May from a revised April estimate of 500,000, an increase of 26.2 percent over May 2011. This marks the third consecutive month of gains for single-family home starts. Multi-family home starts for five or more units fell 24.2 percent in May to 179,000, from a revised April estimate of 236,000, as volatility is typical for this segment.
Building permits for privately owned housing were up from 780,000, 7.9 percent above the revised April estimate of 723,000 and 25 percent above the April 2011 estimate of 624,000. Housing completions fell to 598,000 units, 10.3 percent below the revised April rate of 667,000, but 10.1 percent above the revised April estimate of 543,000.
New home sales of single-family homes rose 7.6 percent above the revised April rate of 343,000 to 369,000 in May, 19.8 percent above the April 2011 estimate of 308,000. Although May's new home sales increased, they still remain depressed by most measures, with the size of the increase partially attributed to the downward revision of April sales.
Private construction spending in May was $261.3 billion, 3.2 percent above the revised April estimate of $253.8 billion and 2 percent above the initial April estimate of $256.1 billion. Residential remodeling permits rose 2 percent to 2,729,000 in April from the revised March estimate of 2,683,000, higher by 12 percent from 2,447,000 permits in April 2011.
Sales are being impeded by three factors: consumer and business confidence, a shortage of well-paying jobs and strict home loan lending standards. Jobs will remain the most critical factor for a strong housing recovery.
For more information on the data, contact Urs Buehlmann, Department of Sustainable Materials, Virginia Tech, at 540.231.9759 or buehlmann@gmail.com.