Housing starts increased 6.8 percent in May to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 914,000 units due to a jump in multifamily construction. Single-family production remained steady at 599,000 homes, but multifamily activity grew 21.6 percent to 315,000 units. Regionally, the South posted a gain of 17.8 percent in combined starts and the West a 5.7 percent increase. The Northeast dropped nine percent points and the Midwest fell 13.7 percent. Issuance of new building permits for single-family and multifamily fell 3.1 percent in May, largely due to a drop of ten percent on the multifamily side. As MHProNews has learned from the National Association of Home Builders, single-family permits nudged up 1.3 percent to 622,000 units, its best rate in five years.

(Photo credit: Sue Orgocki/Associated Press)