Building Permits Decline in May

Single-family authorizations in May were at a rate of 438,000; this is 9.9 percent (plus or minus 2.1%) below the revised April figure of 486,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 117,000 in May. Courtesy of Village of Riverside

Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in May were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 574,000. This is 5.9 percent below the revised April rate of 610,000.

From May 2009 to May 2010 building permits rose 4.4 percent, with increases of 3.1 percent for single units, 13.6 percent for 5 units or more and a decrease of 13.6 percent for 2 to 4 units. The Northeast was one of the top regions with a total increase of 6.3 percent and an increase of 11.4 percent for single units. The West was the worst region with an overall decrease of 0.9 percent and decrease of 3.4 percent for single units.

- Courtesy of Economics & Statistics Administration