Economic Buzz: US housing starts down 15.4% in May

Housing starts in the United States stood at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,177,000 in May, declining 15.4% from April's revised figure and 8.7% from the same month a year earlier, the Census Bureau said on Tuesday.

Single-family housing starts fell 1.9% on a monthly basis to 882,000. Meanwhile, building permits slipped 0.7% from April to 1,413,000 and were 0.2% lower than in May 2025. Single-family authorizations went up 0.6% to 886,000.

At the same time, housing completions came in at 1,313,000, down 8.1% from the previous month, and 14.2% lower than a year earlier. Single-family completions decreased 1.6% from April to 872,000.

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