Housing starts dropped to an annual rate of 1.17 million in May, the lowest number since April 2020.
New home construction starts are down to the lowest level since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, reports Tim Henderson for Source NM. "Builder confidence has dropped recently because of higher material and financing costs," Henderson explains.
May housing starts across the country were down by 8.5% since last year, with losses concentrated in the South and West, where new starts are down 15% and 11%, respectively. The Northeast and Midwest saw increases in new construction. "The annual completion rate was down 14.2% from May 2025 at about 1.3 million units, the lowest since January 2022."
Meanwhile, new permits for apartments remained about the same across the country but saw a drop of 26% in the Midwest.
Read the full story: Housing starts sink to pandemic levels as builders worry about inflation
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