The U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development jointly announced the following new residential construction statistics for May 2013.

BUILDING PERMITS

Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in May were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 974,000. This is 3.1 percent below the revised April rate of 1,005,000, but is 20.8 percent above the May 2012 estimate of 806,000.

Single-family authorizations in May were at a rate of 622,000; this is 1.3 percent above the revised April figure of 614,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 325,000 in May.

HOUSING STARTS

Privately-owned housing starts in May were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 914,000. This is 6.8 percent above the revised April estimate of 856,000 and is 28.6 percent above the May 2012 rate of 711,000.

Single-family housing starts in May were at a rate of 599,000; this is 0.3 percent above the revised April figure of 597,000. The May rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 306,000.

HOUSING COMPLETIONS

Privately-owned housing completions in May were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 690,000. This is 0.9 percent below the revised April estimate of 696,000, but is 12.6 percent above the May 2012 rate of 613,000.

Single-family housing completions in May were at a rate of 546,000; this is 4.2 percent above the revised April rate of 524,000. The May rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 135,000.

Builder confidence in the market for newly-built single-family homes hit a significant milestone in June, surging eight points to a reading of 52 on the National Association of Home [...] Continue Reading…

Houston is recognized worldwide for its energy industry—particularly for oil and natural gas—as well as for biomedical research and aeronautics. Renewable energy sources—wind and solar—are also growing economic bases [...] Continue Reading…

Pending home sales improved slightly in April and continue to be well above a year ago, according to the National Association of Realtors®.  Gains in the Northeast and Midwest [...] Continue Reading…

With vacancy rates modestly falling and rents moderately rising in commercial real estate sectors, market fundamentals have improved, but financing remains a challenge for small business, according to the [...] Continue Reading…