Building permits and housing starts declined 6.4 and 6.5 percent, respectively, from April to May, as the housing market's struggles continue. Housing starts remained 9.4 percent above year-ago levels, but permits, a sign of future construction, were down 1.9 percent from May 2013.

New residential construction levels disappointed in May, as the rate of building permits issued for new homes fell 6.4 percent from April, and housing starts declined but remained above the million-unit rate for the second consecutive month.

Building permits were issued in May at a seasonally adjusted rate of 991,000, compared to 1.06 million permits in April, which was downwardly revised from original report of 1.08 million. The May permits fell 1.9 percent below those in May 2013, which were estimated at a rate of 1.01 million, but the decline was caused by volatility in the multifamily sector, according to a June 17 report from the Census Bureau.

On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, 91,000 permits were issued in May, 59,500 of which were for single-family units, compared to 94,700 and 57,600 in April respectively. Single-family permits were issued at a rate of 619,000 in May, up 3.7 percent from the revised rate of 597,000 in April. Permits for construction of buildings with two or more units reached a rate of 372,000, compared to 462,000 in April, a 19.5 percent decline. Multifamily permits have declined 3.7 percent from a 386,000-permit rate in May 2013.

Housing starts in May were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.001 million, a 6.3 percent decline from the 1.071 million-unit pace in April. The May rate was 9.4 percent higher than a year earlier, when starts were at a rate of 915,000.

The non-seasonally adjusted numbers for May were 94,200 units started, including 59,700 single-family starts. The April numbers were 95,700 and 62,000, respectively. Single-family units were started at a rate of 625,000, a decrease of 5.9 percent from April's 664,000 rate and 24.8 percent higher than in May 2013. Multi-family starts were at a rate of 376,000 compared to 407,000.