Data for May:

• Housing starts 1.177M vs 1.430 million estimate
• Housing starts -15.4% vs -8.5% last month last mont
• Building Permits 1.413M vs 1.420M estimate
• Building permits -0.7% versus +5.8% last month.

Housing starts fall sharply:

• Single-family housing starts: 882,000 annualized units
  • -1.9% vs. April’s revised 899,000 pace
• Multi-family housing starts (5 units or more): 284,000 annualized units.The April rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 529,000.

Although single family housing starts fell, the multifamily housing starts plunged from 529,000 to 284,000

Key Takeaway from the housing starts

• Housing starts fell sharply in May, driven primarily by weakness in the overall construction sector.
• Single-family construction declined only modestly, while the larger drop came from the more volatile multi-family segment.
• The data points to continued softness in residential construction activity amid higher borrowing costs and affordability challenges.

Details of the Building Permits data:

• Single-family permits: 886,000 annualized units
  • +0.6% vs. April’s revised 881,000 pace
• Multi-family permits (5 units or more): 474,000 annualized units. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 514,000 in April.

Key Takeaway from the building permits.

• Building permits were little changed in May, slipping modestly from both the prior month and a year ago.
• Single-family permits edged higher, suggesting builders remain willing to add new projects despite affordability challenges and elevated financing costs.
• The overall softness in permits reflects continued caution in the housing sector, particularly in the multi-family market.

U.S. Housing Completions – May 2026

• Total housing completions: 1.313 million annualized units
  • -8.1% vs. April’s revised 1.429 million pace
  • -14.2% vs. May 2025’s 1.530 million pace
• Single-family completions: 872,000 annualized units
  • -1.6% vs. April’s revised 886,000 pace
• Multi-family completions (5 units or more): 426,000 annualized units

Key Takeaway

• Housing completions fell sharply in May, declining both from the prior month and a year earlier.
• Single-family completions were relatively steady, posting only a modest decline.
• The broader weakness points to a slowdown in the pace at which homes are being delivered to the market, suggesting residential construction activity remains under pressure amid higher financing costs and softer housing demand.

THe Nasdaq has turned into negative territory in pre-market trading (down -40 points). The Dow is still marginally higher. The S&P id down -0.79 points.

Yields are marginally lower. The 10 year is down -2.7 basis points at 4.441%. The 2 year is down -1.2 basis points at 4.051%