Compared to the unrevised April number, starts decline 19.7 percent.
Housing Starts Lowest Since May of 2020
The monthly New Residential Construction report for May 2026 shows a construction disaster.
Housing Starts
- Housing Starts Privately-owned housing starts in May were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,177,000.
- This is 15.4 percent (±9.8 percent) below the revised April estimate of 1,392,000 and is 8.7 percent (±8.2 percent) below the May 2025 rate of 1,289,000.
- Single-family housing starts in May were at a rate of 882,000; this is 1.9 percent (±10.8 percent) below the revised April figure of 899,000. The May rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 284,000.
Building Permits
- Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in May were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,413,000.
- This is 0.7 percent below the revised April rate of 1,423,000 and is 0.2 percent below the May 2025 rate of 1,416,000.
- Single-family authorizations in May were at a rate of 886,000; this is 0.6 percent above the revised April figure of 881,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 474,000 in May.
Housing Completions
- Privately-owned housing completions in May were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,313,000.
- This is 8.1 percent (±12.3 percent)* below the revised April estimate of 1,429,000 and is 14.2 percent (±11.8 percent) below the May 2025 rate of 1,530,000.
- Single-family housing completions in May were at a rate of 872,000; this is 1.6 percent (±12.8 percent)* below the revised April rate of 886,000. The May rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 426,000.
Housing Starts Single Family vs Multi-Family
Single Family vs Multi-Family Details SA in Thousands
- Total: 1,177
- Single Family: 882
- Multi-Family: 295
The total is the lowest since May of 2020 in the Covid pandemic.
Housing Units Under Construction
Units Under Construction Details
- Total: 1,266
- Multi-Family: 679
- Single-Family: 587
Despite the big decline, there is still a large number of units under construction. But who can afford to buy?
On the surface, this will put price pressure on units as they complete. But many of these are pre-sold, I believe to buyers who will regret buying.
Mortgage Rates
The average 30-year mortgage rate is 6.58 percent, up from 5.99 percent in February according to Mortgage News Daily.
This is not good for either buyers or sellers.
Trump’s tariffs on steel, lumber, and appliances do not help either.
Related Posts
January 30, 2026: Dear Zoomers, Trump Says He “Wants to Drive Up Housing Prices”
Somehow, I doubt Gen Z will like this message.
May 26, 2026: Consumer Credit Stress Is Comparable to the Great Recession
Auto delinquencies are at a new record and credit cards are near record high.
May 31, 2026: Housing Stagnation for Over Three Years in New and Existing Home Sales
New and existing-home sales collapsed in 2022 and have gone nowhere since.
As I’ve stated many times before, the mortgage cost *could* be manageable for most people but what’s not manageable are the ongoing expenses for insurance, maintenance/repair, utilities and other costs that don’t ever go away even when the mortgage is paid off. My niece just had her HVAC go haywire, the house is 10 years old and I told her that HVAC units seem to break every 10 years so put it on your calendar. It’s going to be an expensive replacement no doubt.
I am due for a new HVAC and water heater soon myself, the 10 year mark approaches.
Throw in soaring food costs, soaring healthcare costs, soaring energy (gas/diesel), and the tariff nonsense on top of it all and it’s not sustainable.
Then you got something else…
Do worry, Trump & Walrus will find a way to make things even worse.™
Housing went down during the GFC because Bernanke held the means-of-payment money supply constant for 4 contiguous years, i.e., total checkable deposits which drove legal reserves down for 29 contiguous months.
But the kicker has gone completely unknown. The transactions velocity of money fell sharply because the ratio of time deposits to demand deposits hit an all-time high. I.e., banks don’t lend deposits. Deposits are the result of lending. Bank held savings have a zero payment’s velocity. See Dr. Philip George’s The Riddle of Money Finally Solved.
That and the FDIC raised transaction deposit insurance to unlimited. That caused disintermediation of the nonbanks.
My anecodotal view of prices at the home center, the “who can afford to buy” might just as easily be stated “who can afford to build”. Now combine the statement. If it’s expensive to build and the risk falls to the builder to its ultimate sale into the “who can afford to buy” crowd, only an insane optimist would be aggressively building.
I now make discretionary choices on what to repair/maintain on my home. Imagine the contractor building homes into this market of higher input costs, higher property taxes, homeowners insurance, mortgate rates and every other living expense…when those that can afford homes are unlikely to come off their 2.5% mortgage they financed 5 years ago and the rest can’t afford to buy.
This situation was all manufactured by the Fed’s artificially low rates and Congress throwing everything at this market for 17 years after the GFC to recapitalize banks and forestall deflation. We needed the clearing of malinvestment and instead we got another decade of it along with the debt. Sad.
Sadder still–they are out of palatable political options so they’ll try to print and spend to prevent any meaningful downturn that could cure the excess.
I continue to be amazed that the top 10-20% carry the economy while the rest of the citizenry puts up with declining standards of living. All while supporting their plutocratic overlords that screw them over in plain sight.
I know ignorance is a powerful force, but the current state of affairs in the US is amazingly unstable
The complicity of a large number of Americans via the designed involvement of the 401k/IRA is the reason it hasn’t turned into an outright revolt. If 56% of Americans own stock and stocks have risen 15+% annually 17 straight years (the math, not the linear nature of the returns), it means many folks not only feel rich but they are rich relative to inflation. I’ve seen it in my peer group. I haven’t been invested to any degree since the GFC and they have…they are all wealthy and they were, like me, just average joe ditch diggers.
If jobs go away before they can access those funds via non-penalized distributions you might see a bit more concern but, if not, a lot of folks have been enriched along with the highest tier.
Wonder how much housing would cost (for real) without the ability to leverage it for 30 years? Same with college educations, car loans, etc?
More “winning”.
O goodie.