Housing starts declined 3.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 975,000 units in May. This was the lowest total starts number since March of 1991. Single-family starts declined one percent to a rate of 674,000 units, their lowest since January of 1991.

?EUR??,,????'??Today?EUR??,,????'???s report clearly shows that the housing downswing is still underway, with systematic declines in both housing starts and building permits for May,?EUR??,,????'?? said NAHB Chief Economist David Seiders.

While single-family starts fell one percent to a rate of 674,000 units in May, multifamily starts ?EUR??,,????'??? which typically display significant month-to-month volatility ?EUR??,,????'??? sank back eight percent to a more realistic 301,000-unit rate following a substantial up tick in April.

Housing starts fell in three out of four regions in May, with the Midwest posting a 25 percent decline from the previous month, the South posting a 4.4 percent decline and the West registering a 10.3 percent decline. Only the Northeast posted a gain for the month, with a 61.5 percent boost following a large decline in April.

Privately owned housing units authorized by building permits in May were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 969,000. This is 1.3 percent below the revised April rate of 982,000 and is 36.3 percent below the revised May 2007 estimate of 1.522 million.

Single-family authorizations in May were at a rate of 623,000; this is four percent below the April figure of 649,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 314,000 in May.

Privately owned housing completions in May were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate if 1.132 million. This is 11.6 percent above the revised April estimate of 1.014 million, but is 26.9 percent below the revised May 2007 rate of 1.549 million.

Single-family housing completions in May were at a rate of 869,000; this is 8.9 percent above the April figure of 798,000. The May rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 248,000.

Regionally, issuance of building permits was mixed in May, with the Midwest and South reporting declines of 7.6 percent and 8.6 percent, respectively, and the Northeast and West posting respective gains of 30.6 percent and 4.1 percent.