Building Permits Up 8.7 percent in May

Finally, some good news on the housing front. Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in May were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 612,000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau — 8.7 percent above the revised April rate of 563,000 and 5.2 percent above the May 2010 estimate of 582,000. Single-family authorizations in May were at a rate of 405,000, 2.5 percent above the revised April figure of 395,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 190,000 in May.

Privately-owned housing starts in May were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 560,000, 3.5 percent above the12.4 percent revised April estimate of 541,000, but 3.4 percent below the May 2010 rate of 580,000. Single-family housing starts in May were at a rate of 419,000; 3.7 percent above the revised April figure of 404,000.