Steel Markets
June 16, 2017
Multifamily Brings Housing Starts Down In May
Written by Sandy Williams
Housing starts dipped 5.5 percent in May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,092,000, from April’s revised estimate of 1,156,000, according to data from the U.S. Commerce Department. Single family starts dropped 3.9 percent, while starts for buildings with five or more units fell 9.8 percent.
Regionally, total starts were flat in the Northeast and gained 1.3 percent in the West. Starts in the Midwest and South were down 9.2 percent and 8.8 percent, respectively. Single family starts did make gains in two of the regions, up 12.95 percent in the Northeast and 9.95 percent in the Midwest.
