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U.S. housing starts plunge in May

Xinhua, June 17, 2015 Adjust font size:

U.S. new home starts in May fell from a record high in the previous month, but applications for building permits continued to increase, a sign of the housing market gaining steady improvement.

The U.S. Department of Commerce said on Tuesday that U.S. privately-owned housing starts were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,036,000 in May, plunging 11.1 percent from the revised April estimate of 1,165,000, but 5.1 percent higher than the year-ago level.

Single-family housing starts in May were at a rate of 680,000, down 5.4 percent from the revised April figure.

Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits, a gauge of future construction, were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,275,000, an increase of 11.8 percent from the revised April rate, and the best since August 2007.

The housing starts and permits in May point to a solid improvement in the housing market. Some analysts believe that, with low interest rates and strong job growth, more buyers will be encouraged to enter the housing market. Endite