HOUSING STARTS AND BUILDING PERMITS IN MAY 1996 PRIVATELY OWNED HOUSING STARTS Privately owned housing starts in May were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,434,000, according to estimates reported today by the U.S. Commerce Department's Bureau of the Census. This is 5 (+/-6) percent below the revised April rate of 1,505,000, but 10 (+/-6) percent above the May 1995 rate of 1,300,000. Single-family housing starts in May 1996 were at a rate of 1,130,000; this is 6 (+/-5) percent below the April figure of 1,201,000. The May rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 263,000. The May rate for units in buildings with two to four units was 41,000. During the first 5 months of this year, 587,200 housing units were started compared with 517,200 units for the same period in 1995. This is an increase of 14 (+/-2) percent. BUILDING PERMITS Seasonally adjusted statistics for building permits, January 1994 through April 1996, and unadjusted statistics for January through December 1995 have been revised. The seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing units authorized by building permits in May was 1,431,000; this is 2 (+/-1) percent below the revised April rate of 1,459,000, but 14 (+/-1) percent above the revised May 1995 estimate of 1,258,000. Single-family authorizations in May 1996 were at a rate of 1,093,000; this is 2 (+/-2) percent below the April figure of 1,115,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 273,000 in May. The May rate of permit-authorized units in buildings with two to four units was 65,000. During the first 5 months of this year, 580,300 housing units were authorized by building permits compared with 502,500 units for the same period in 1995. This is an increase of 15 (+/-1) percent. MOBILE HOME SHIPMENTS Statistics on mobile home shipments, which lag by 1 month, appear in the Current Construction Reports, series C20. In April, manufacturers' shipments of mobile homes were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 378,000, 4 percent above the March figure of 364,000. The April 1995 rate was 327,000. Before seasonal adjustment, total shipments in April 1996 were 32,500. The next press release is scheduled to be issued on Wednesday, July 17, 1996, at 8:30 A.M. EDT. EXPLANATORY NOTES In interpreting changes in the statistics in this release, note that month-to-month changes in seasonally adjusted statistics often show movements which may be irregular. It may take 4 months to establish an underlying trend for total starts, 3 months for building permit authorizations, and 2 months for mobile home shipments. Except for those on mobile home shipments, the statistics in this release are estimated from sample surveys and are subject to sampling variability as well as nonsampling error including bias and variance from response, nonreporting, and undercoverage. Estimated average relative standard errors of preliminary data are shown in the tables. Whenever a statement such as "2 (+/-3) percent above" appears in the text, this indicates the range (-1 to +5 percent) in which the actual percent change is likely to have occurred. All ranges given for percent changes are 90- percent confidence intervals and account only for sampling variability. If a range contains zero, it is uncertain whether there was an increase or decrease; that is, the change is not statistically significant. For any comparison cited without a confidence interval, the change is statistically significant. The May 1996 Current Construction Reports, C20/96-5, will include explanations of confidence intervals and sampling variability. On average, the preliminary seasonally adjusted estimates of total housing starts and building permits are revised about +/-1 percent. Statistics on mobile home shipments are compiled from manufacturers' reports to the National Conference of States on Building Codes and Standards (NCSBCS). Questions regarding these data may be directed to Manufacturing and Construction Division, Construction Starts Branch, telephone (301)457-4703. NEW PRIVATELY OWNED HOUSING UNITS STARTED BY TYPE OF STRUCTURE: MAY 1996 In structures with - 3 and 4 5 units Period Total 1 unit 2 units units or more Seasonally adjusted annual rate 1995 - May 1,300 1,005 36 259 June 1,301 1,036 35 230 July 1,450 1,125 39 286 August 1,401 1,135 28 238 September 1,401 1,130 39 232 October 1,351 1,109 31 211 November 1,458 1,129 32 297 December 1,425 1,150 29 246 1996 - January 1,453 1,146 20 287 February 1,514 1,183 33 298 March(r) 1,439 1,163 25 251 April(r) 1,505 1,201 51 253 MAY(p) 1,434 1,130 41 263 AVG. RSE(%) 3 3 9 9 Not seasonally adjusted 1994 1,457.0 1,198.4 14.8 20.2 223.5 1995 1,354.1 1,076.2 14.3 19.4 244.1 AVG. RSE(%) 1 1 10 5 1 1995 First 5 months 517.2 410.3 6.0 7.2 93.6 1996 First 5 months 587.2 467.5 5.7 8.5 105.5 AVG. RSE(%) 1 1 8 7 3 1995 - May 130.5 102.3 1.3 1.8 25.0 June 123.4 100.5 1.6 1.9 19.4 July 129.1 102.0 1.8 1.9 23.4 August 135.8 108.5 0.6 2.1 24.6 September 122.4 97.7 1.7 1.7 21.3 October 126.2 101.5 0.8 1.6 22.2 November 107.2 82.0 1.2 1.6 22.4 December 92.8 73.7 0.5 1.3 17.2 1996 - January 90.7 68.9 0.3 0.8 20.6 February 95.9 74.2 0.9 1.1 19.7 March(r) 116.0 96.9 1.0 1.0 17.1 April(r) 146.3 117.6 1.9 3.4 23.4 MAY(p) 138.3 109.9 1.6 2.1 24.7 AVG. RSE(%) 3 3 14 11 9 Thousands of units. Detail may not add to total because of rounding. AVG. RSE(%): Annual - Avg. RSE for the last two years. YTD - Avg. RSE for the current period and the same period last year. Monthly - Avg. RSE for the latest six month period (January-June or July-December). (p) Preliminary. (r) Revised. (Z) Less than 50 units or less than 0.5 percent. Source: Construction Reports, Series C20, Housing Starts. The C20 Report is available from the U.S. Government Printing Office. Annual subscription: $15.00. Questions regarding these data may be directed to Manufacturing and Construction Division, Construction Starts Branch, telephone (301)457-4703. NEW PRIVATELY OWNED HOUSING UNITS STARTED BY REGION: MAY 1996 North- Mid- Period Total east west South West Seasonally adjusted annual rate 1995 - May 1,300 129 256 576 339 June 1,301 124 289 567 321 July 1,450 115 290 713 332 August 1,401 119 320 626 336 September 1,401 116 308 616 361 October 1,351 120 278 606 347 November 1,458 103 318 708 329 December 1,425 93 305 679 348 1996 - January 1,453 99 333 625 396 February 1,514 130 317 648 419 March(r) 1,439 139 325 634 341 April(r) 1,505 136 323 653 393 MAY(p) 1,434 124 312 659 339 AVG. RSE(%) 3 7 6 4 6 Not seasonally adjusted 1994 1,457.0 138.2 328.9 639.1 350.8 1995 1,354.1 117.7 290.1 615.0 331.3 AVG. RSE (%) 1 1 2 2 1 1995 First 5 months 517.2 44.3 98.8 243.7 130.4 1996 First 5 months 587.2 46.2 116.4 272.2 152.4 AVG. RSE (%) 1 3 2 2 2 1995 - May 130.5 13.1 27.7 56.5 33.2 June 123.4 13.1 31.0 49.5 29.9 July 129.1 10.6 26.6 61.9 30.0 August 135.8 12.0 33.7 56.7 33.4 September 122.4 10.4 28.6 51.7 31.7 October 126.2 12.1 29.6 53.6 30.9 November 107.2 8.6 24.7 51.6 22.3 December 92.8 6.5 17.1 46.3 22.8 1996 - January 90.7 5.0 14.7 43.8 27.2 February 95.9 6.1 13.8 46.9 29.0 March(r) 116.0 10.0 24.0 54.5 27.4 April(r) 146.3 13.2 31.8 63.9 37.4 MAY(p) 138.3 11.9 32.1 63.0 31.3 AVG. RSE (%) 3 7 6 4 6 Thousands of units. Detail may not add to total because of rounding. AVG. RSE(%): Annual - Avg. RSE for the last two years. YTD - Avg. RSE for the current period and the s period last year. Monthly - Avg. RSE for the latest six month period (January-June or July-December). (p) Preliminary. (r) Revised. (Z) Less than 50 units or less than 0.5 percent. Source: Construction Reports, Series C20, Housing Starts. The C20 Report is available from the U.S. Government Printing Office. Annual subscription: $15.00. Questions regarding these data may be directed to Manufacturing and Construction Division, Construction Starts Branch, telephone (301)457-4703. PRIVATELY OWNED HOUSING UNITS AUTHORIZED BY BUILDING PERMITS IN PERMIT-ISSUING PLACES BY TYPE OF STRUCTURE: MAY 1996 In structures with - 3 and 4 5 units Period Total 1 unit 2 units units or more Seasonally adjusted annual rate (19,000 permit-issuing places) 1994(r) January 1,390 1,112 68 210 February 1,269 1,065 56 148 March 1,342 1,078 61 203 April 1,392 1,084 62 246 May 1,396 1,110 66 220 June 1,357 1,067 58 232 July 1,335 1,041 60 234 August 1,377 1,054 60 263 September 1,412 1,056 60 296 October 1,397 1,042 68 287 November 1,340 1,014 66 260 December 1,396 1,086 62 248 1995(r) January 1,295 992 62 241 February 1,264 927 54 283 March 1,221 904 65 252 April 1,245 913 61 271 May 1,258 946 62 250 June 1,290 970 64 256 July 1,358 1,017 62 279 August 1,379 1,046 62 271 September 1,427 1,079 69 279 October 1,393 1,050 68 275 November 1,450 1,073 71 306 December 1,487 1,123 60 304 1996 - January(r) 1,378 1,056 65 257 February(r) 1,417 1,087 60 270 March(r) 1,423 1,097 61 265 April(r) 1,459 1,115 75 269 MAY(p) 1,431 1,093 65 273 AVG. RSE(%) 1 1 3 1 Not seasonally adjusted (19,000 permit-issuing places) 1994 1,371.6 1,068.5 31.4 30.8 241.0 1995(r) 1,332.5 997.3 32.2 31.5 271.5 AVG. RSE(%) (X) (X) (X) (X) (X) 1995 First 5 months 502.5 382.2 12.8 11.3 96.2 1996 First 5 months 580.3 453.5 13.4 12.5 100.9 AVG. RSE(%) 1 1 3 3 1 1995(r) January 78.0 58.2 1.8 2.0 16.1 February 80.4 59.8 2.0 1.3 17.3 March 111.5 85.1 3.0 2.9 20.5 April 109.7 83.1 2.8 2.5 21.3 May 122.8 95.9 3.3 2.6 21.1 June 129.3 97.4 3.2 3.4 25.3 July 115.6 88.3 2.3 2.4 22.5 August 133.5 101.4 3.1 3.0 26.1 September 124.1 90.1 3.0 3.0 28.1 October 122.2 90.8 3.1 3.3 25.0 November 107.8 78.4 2.9 3.1 23.5 December 97.4 68.8 1.9 2.0 24.7 1996 - January 87.3 65.5 2.1 1.9 17.8 February 94.9 73.6 2.1 1.8 17.4 March 119.9 95.1 2.6 2.4 19.6 April(r) 139.4 109.4 3.7 3.4 23.0 MAY(p) 138.3 109.1 3.0 3.2 23.0 AVG. RSE(%) 1 1 5 5 1 Not started at end of period - not seasonally adjusted (19,000 permit-issuing places) 1995 - May 124.5 72.9 5.3 46.4 1996 - March(r) 147.6 89.9 6.3 51.4 April(r) 143.8 88.5 5.5 49.7 MAY(p) 150.7 94.5 6.3 50.0 AVG. RSE(%) 3 4 9 6 Thousands of units. Detail may not add to total because of rounding. AVG. RSE(%): Annual - Avg. RSE for the last two years. YTD - Avg. RSE for the current period and the same period last year. Monthly - Avg. RSE for the latest six month period (January-June or July-December). (p) Preliminary. (r) Revised. (X) Not applicable. (Z) Less than 50 units or less than 0.5 percent. Source: Construction Reports, Series C20, Housing Starts. The C20 Report is available from the U.S. Government Printing Office. Annual subscription: $15.00. Questions regarding these data may be directed to Manufacturing and Construction Division, Construction Starts Branch, telephone (301)457-4703. PRIVATELY OWNED HOUSING UNITS AUTHORIZED BY BUILDING PERMITS IN PERMIT-ISSUING PLACES BY REGION: MAY 1996 North- Mid- Period Total east west South West Seasonally adjusted annual rate (19,000 permit-issuing places) 1994(r) January 1,390 102 298 599 391 February 1,269 112 278 545 334 March 1,342 121 305 576 340 April 1,392 135 306 600 351 May 1,396 143 315 592 346 June 1,357 146 301 565 345 July 1,335 161 300 567 307 August 1,377 143 303 589 342 September 1,412 135 295 608 374 October 1,397 131 318 591 357 November 1,340 137 298 590 315 December 1,396 167 323 603 303 1995(r) January 1,295 144 285 566 300 February 1,264 119 277 531 337 March 1,221 126 275 556 264 April 1,245 129 274 532 310 May 1,258 118 270 550 320 June 1,290 118 288 563 321 July 1,358 117 304 598 339 August 1,379 122 309 601 347 September 1,427 128 313 637 349 October 1,393 125 323 629 316 November 1,450 124 324 634 368 December 1,487 128 317 644 398 1996 - January(r) 1,378 102 312 594 370 February(r) 1,417 122 323 600 372 March(r) 1,423 137 329 591 366 April(r) 1,459 135 342 634 348 MAY(p) 1,431 135 301 660 335 AVG. RSE(%) 1 2 1 1 1 Not seasonally adjusted (19,000 permit-issuing places) 1994 1,371.6 138.5 305.2 585.5 342.4 1995(r) 1,332.5 124.2 296.6 583.2 328.5 AVG. RSE(%) (X) (X) (X) (X) (X) 1995 First 5 months 502.5 47.3 104.3 229.0 121.8 1996 First 5 months 580.3 49.2 122.7 263.7 144.7 AVG. RSE(%) 1 2 1 1 1 1995(r) January 78.0 7.4 12.3 40.1 18.3 February 80.4 5.6 13.7 38.7 22.5 March 111.5 10.5 23.8 52.7 24.5 April 109.7 11.4 25.2 46.6 26.5 May 122.8 12.4 29.3 51.0 30.1 June 129.3 12.4 29.7 53.3 33.9 July 115.6 10.7 27.3 48.4 29.2 August 133.5 12.3 31.9 55.9 33.5 September 124.1 11.2 28.9 55.0 29.1 October 122.2 11.9 31.9 51.5 27.0 November 107.8 10.5 24.9 46.3 26.2 December 97.4 8.0 17.8 43.8 27.8 1996 - January 87.3 5.5 14.0 44.2 23.5 February 94.9 6.0 16.8 46.0 26.1 March 119.9 10.5 26.4 51.6 31.3 April(r) 139.4 12.9 34.0 60.3 32.2 MAY(p) 138.3 14.0 31.9 61.3 31.1 AVG. RSE(%) 1 2 1 1 1 Not started at end of period - not seasonally adjusted (19,000 permit-issuing places) 1995 - May 124.5 18.0 19.7 61.8 25.0 1996 - March(r) 147.6 17.3 23.0 75.9 31.3 April(r) 143.8 17.1 24.4 75.0 27.2 MAY(p) 150.7 19.3 27.3 76.0 28.1 AVG. RSE(%) 3 11 11 5 5 Thousands of units. Detail may not add to total because of rounding. AVG. RSE(%): Annual - Avg. RSE for the last two years. YTD - Avg. RSE for the current period and the same period last year. Monthly - Avg. RSE for the latest six month period (January-June or July-December). (p) Preliminary. (r) Revised. (X) Not applicable. (Z) Less than 50 units or less than 0.5 percent. Source: Construction Reports, Series C20, Housing Starts. The C20 Report is available from the U.S. Government Printing Office. Annual subscription: $15.00. Questions regarding these data may be directed to Manufacturing and Construction Division, Construction Starts Branch, telephone (301)457-4703.