HOUSING STARTS AND BUILDING PERMITS IN MAY 1997 PRIVATELY OWNED HOUSING STARTS Privately owned housing starts in May were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,397,000, according to estimates reported today by the U.S. Commerce Department's Bureau of the Census. This is 5 (+/-5) percent below the revised April rate of 1,468,000 and 5 (+/-6) percent below the May 1996 rate of 1,476,000. Single-family housing starts in May 1997 were at a rate of 1,088,000; this is 3 (+/-5) percent below the April figure of 1,116,000. The May rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 271,000. The May rate for units in buildings with two to four units was 38,000. During the first 5 months of this year, 573,500 housing units were started compared with 593,000 units for the same period in 1996. This is a decrease of 3 (+/-2) percent. BUILDING PERMITS The seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing units authorized by building permits in May was 1,443,000; this is virtually unchanged (+/-1 percent) from the revised April rate of 1,442,000, but 1 (+/-1) percent below the May 1996 estimate of 1,457,000. Single-family authorizations in May 1997 were at a rate of 1,056,000; this is virtually unchanged (+/-1 percent) from the April figure of 1,060,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 320,000 in May. The May rate of permit-authorized units in buildings with two to four units was 67,000. During the first 5 months of this year, 573,700 housing units were authorized by building permits compared with 585,300 units for the same period in 1996. This is a decrease of 2 (+/-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 372,000, 5 percent above the March figure of 353,000. The April 1996 rate was 373,000. Before seasonal adjustment, total shipments in April 1997 were 32,500. The next press release is scheduled to be issued on Thursday, July 17, 1997, 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 April 1997 Current Construction Reports, C20/97-4, includes 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 the Manufacturing and Construction Division, Residential Construction Branch, telephone (301)457-4703. NEW PRIVATELY OWNED HOUSING UNITS STARTED BY TYPE OF STRUCTURE: MAY 1997 In structures with - 3 and 4 5 units Period Total 1 unit 2 units units or more Seasonally adjusted annual rate 1996 - May 1,476 1,142 48 286 June 1,488 1,214 46 228 July 1,492 1,164 44 284 August 1,515 1,222 37 256 September 1,470 1,148 45 277 October 1,407 1,104 58 245 November 1,486 1,133 60 293 December 1,353 1,024 48 281 1997 - January 1,375 1,125 43 207 February 1,554 1,237 44 273 March(r) 1,479 1,142 45 292 April(r) 1,468 1,116 43 309 MAY(p) 1,397 1,088 38 271 AVG. RSE(%) 3 2 12 11 Not seasonally adjusted 1995 1,354.1 1,076.2 14.3 19.4 244.1 1996 1,476.8 1,160.9 16.4 28.8 270.8 AVG. RSE(%) 1 1 7 8 2 1996 First 5 months 593.0 469.5 5.8 9.4 108.3 1997 First 5 months 573.5 450.5 6.1 9.6 107.2 AVG. RSE(%) 1 1 9 6 3 1996 - May 143.9 111.6 1.6 3.0 27.7 June 138.0 115.0 1.6 3.3 18.2 July 137.5 109.1 1.2 3.1 24.2 August 144.2 115.6 1.2 2.0 25.4 September 128.7 99.3 1.9 1.9 25.6 October 130.8 101.0 2.1 2.9 24.8 November 111.5 82.6 1.6 4.3 23.0 December 93.1 68.8 1.1 1.9 21.3 1997 - January 82.2 66.6 0.6 1.5 13.5 February 94.7 75.1 1.4 1.1 17.1 March(r) 120.4 96.1 0.9 2.6 20.7 April(r) 140.4 107.4 1.9 2.3 28.8 MAY(p) 135.8 105.3 1.3 2.2 27.0 AVG. RSE(%) 3 2 10 19 11 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: $21.00. Questions regarding these data may be directed to the Manufacturing and Construction Division, Residential Construction Branch, telephone (301)457-4703. NEW PRIVATELY OWNED HOUSING UNITS STARTED BY REGION: MAY 1997 North- Mid- Period Total east west South West Seasonally adjusted annual rate 1996 - May 1,476 128 322 680 346 June 1,488 126 300 686 376 July 1,492 129 355 670 338 August 1,515 131 337 671 376 September 1,470 140 309 682 339 October 1,407 138 287 617 365 November 1,486 128 330 672 356 December 1,353 139 300 641 273 1997 - January 1,375 182 260 589 344 February 1,554 135 386 671 362 March(r) 1,479 150 301 653 375 April(r) 1,468 135 293 693 347 MAY(p) 1,397 124 293 615 365 AVG. RSE(%) 3 6 7 5 5 Not seasonally adjusted 1995 1,354.1 117.7 290.1 615.0 331.3 1996 1,476.8 132.1 321.5 661.9 361.4 AVG. RSE (%) 1 1 2 2 1 1996 First 5 months 593.0 46.8 117.9 274.8 153.5 1997 First 5 months 573.5 50.5 108.2 268.6 146.2 AVG. RSE (%) 1 3 2 1 1 1996 - May 143.9 12.6 33.6 65.2 32.5 June 138.0 13.4 30.9 58.6 35.1 July 137.5 12.3 34.9 59.2 31.1 August 144.2 12.9 35.3 59.2 36.7 September 128.7 13.0 28.6 57.6 29.5 October 130.8 13.9 29.8 54.0 33.0 November 111.5 10.1 26.6 51.0 23.9 December 93.1 9.7 17.4 47.4 18.6 1997 - January 82.2 8.5 10.5 39.8 23.3 February 94.7 6.2 16.3 47.4 24.8 March(r) 120.4 11.1 22.3 55.5 31.4 April(r) 140.4 12.7 28.3 67.4 32.1 MAY(p) 135.8 12.0 30.7 58.5 34.6 AVG. RSE (%) 3 6 7 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 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: $21.00. Questions regarding these data may be directed to the Manufacturing and Construction Division, Residential Construction Branch, telephone (301)457-4703. PRIVATELY OWNED HOUSING UNITS AUTHORIZED BY BUILDING PERMITS IN PERMIT-ISSUING PLACES BY TYPE OF STRUCTURE: MAY 1997 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) 1996 - May 1,457 1,101 64 292 June 1,432 1,094 64 274 July 1,454 1,077 67 310 August 1,405 1,061 62 282 September 1,391 1,029 70 292 October 1,349 1,003 68 278 November 1,391 1,016 65 310 December 1,405 999 65 341 1997 - January 1,395 1,052 62 281 February 1,438 1,069 68 301 March 1,457 1,034 71 352 April(r) 1,442 1,060 68 314 MAY(p) 1,443 1,056 67 320 AVG. RSE(%) 1 1 3 2 Not seasonally adjusted (19,000 permit-issuing places) 1995 1,332.5 997.3 32.2 31.5 271.5 1996 1,425.6 1,069.5 33.6 32.2 290.3 AVG. RSE(%) (X) (X) (X) (X) (X) 1996 First 5 months 585.3 455.2 13.6 12.3 104.2 1997 First 5 months 573.7 430.0 13.7 12.9 117.2 AVG. RSE(%) 1 1 3 4 1 1996 - May 140.5 109.2 3.1 3.0 25.1 June 131.4 100.7 2.9 3.1 24.7 July 135.1 101.8 2.9 2.8 27.5 August 129.1 97.6 3.0 2.5 26.0 September 121.1 85.9 3.0 3.1 29.1 October 123.7 90.8 3.3 3.7 25.9 November 100.7 71.5 2.7 2.6 23.9 December 99.2 66.0 2.2 2.0 29.1 1997 - January 88.9 66.0 2.0 1.7 19.2 February 92.8 70.2 2.3 2.0 18.3 March 120.1 88.5 3.0 2.8 25.8 April(r) 137.0 103.8 3.3 3.3 26.6 MAY(p) 133.1 101.0 3.0 3.2 25.9 AVG. RSE(%) 1 1 4 5 2 Not started at end of period - not seasonally adjusted (19,000 permit-issuing places) 1996 - May 146.5 91.0 4.8 50.7 1997 - March(r) 133.2 69.4 4.6 59.2 April(r) 131.2 73.6 4.1 53.5 MAY(p) 127.7 73.8 4.4 49.5 AVG. RSE(%) 4 3 10 7 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: $21.00. Questions regarding these data may be directed to the Manufacturing and Construction Division, Residential Construction Branch, telephone (301)457-4703. PRIVATELY OWNED HOUSING UNITS AUTHORIZED BY BUILDING PERMITS IN PERMIT-ISSUING PLACES BY REGION: MAY 1997 North- Mid- Period Total east west South West Seasonally adjusted annual rate (19,000 permit-issuing places) 1996 - May 1,457 137 313 662 345 June 1,432 136 314 636 346 July 1,454 136 337 624 357 August 1,405 145 310 623 327 September 1,391 140 305 598 348 October 1,349 138 294 584 333 November 1,391 135 304 628 324 December 1,405 145 303 636 321 1997 - January 1,395 146 299 600 350 February 1,438 164 312 610 352 March 1,457 153 307 652 345 April(r) 1,442 127 316 651 348 MAY(p) 1,443 133 295 634 381 AVG. RSE(%) 1 1 2 1 1 Not seasonally adjusted (19,000 permit-issuing places) 1995 1,332.5 124.2 296.6 583.2 328.5 1996 1,425.6 136.9 317.8 623.4 347.4 AVG. RSE(%) (X) (X) (X) (X) (X) 1996 First 5 months 585.3 50.6 124.6 264.4 145.6 1997 First 5 months 573.7 55.1 113.6 262.8 142.2 AVG. RSE(%) 1 2 1 1 1 1996 - May 140.5 14.2 32.8 61.8 31.8 June 131.4 13.1 29.4 55.6 33.4 July 135.1 13.4 33.1 54.7 33.8 August 129.1 14.0 30.3 55.4 29.4 September 121.1 12.2 27.8 51.4 29.8 October 123.7 13.4 30.8 49.6 29.9 November 100.7 10.8 23.1 44.9 21.9 December 99.2 9.4 18.7 47.4 23.6 1997 - January 88.9 8.2 13.4 44.1 23.1 February 92.8 8.1 15.9 44.5 24.3 March 120.1 11.3 24.1 55.9 28.8 April(r) 137.0 12.4 31.4 61.5 31.7 MAY(p) 133.1 13.1 29.0 56.8 34.2 AVG. RSE(%) 1 1 2 1 1 Not started at end of period - not seasonally adjusted (19,000 permit-issuing places) 1996 - May 146.5 18.6 26.9 74.9 26.1 1997 - March(r) 133.2 15.7 20.2 73.9 23.5 April(r) 131.2 14.6 22.4 70.8 23.3 MAY(p) 127.7 15.5 20.0 69.2 23.1 AVG. RSE(%) 4 8 10 6 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: $21.00. Questions regarding these data may be directed to the Manufacturing and Construction Division, Residential Construction Branch, telephone (301)457-4703.