US housing starts for the month of May rose to 532,000 units on a seasonally adjusted annualized basis according to Commerce Department figures. The 17.2 per cent increase was well in excess of most estimates. Building permits also rose four per cent to a pace of 518,000.
Housing starts had been projected to rise to 485,000 units according to a median forecast of 71 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. Overall, estimates had ranged between 450,000 and 600,000. Permits had been forecast to increase to 508,000.
Single-family homes rose 7.5 per cent to a rate of 401,000 while multi-family homes were up 61.7 per cent to 131,000 units.
Regionally, the increase in starts was led from the West with a 29 per cent increase, followed by a 17 per cent in the South, an 11 per cent increase in the Midwest and a two per cent increase in the Northeast.
Compared to the same period last year, housing starts were down 45.2 percent.
