Steel Markets
June 17, 2019
Housing Starts Decline in May
Written by Sandy Williams
Housing starts dipped slightly in May, inching down 0.9 percent from April’s revised rate to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,269,000. Starts were 4.7 percent below the May 2018 rate. Single-family starts led the decline, falling 6.4 percent from April to a SAAR of 820,000, while housing of five units or more jumped 13.8 percent to 436,000.
The South was the only region to post positive growth at 11.2 percent in May. Starts fell 45.5 percent in the Northeast, 8.0 percent in the Midwest and 2.4 percent in the West.
