HOUSING STARTS AND BUILDING PERMITS IN MAY 1998 PRIVATELY OWNED HOUSING STARTS Privately owned housing starts in May were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,530,000, according to estimates reported today by the U.S. Commerce Department's Bureau of the Census. This is 1 (+/-5) percent below the revised April rate of 1,541,000, but 9 (+/-5) percent above the May 1997 rate of 1,404,000. Single-family housing starts in May 1998 were at a rate of 1,228,000; this is virtually unchanged (+/-5 percent) from the April figure of 1,233,000. The May rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 262,000. The May rate for units in buildings with two to four units was 40,000. During the first 5 months of this year, 612,600 housing units were started compared with 575,900 units for the same period in 1997. This is an increase of 6 (+/-3) percent. BUILDING PERMITS The seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing units authorized by building permits in May was 1,545,000; this is 2 (+/-1) percent above the revised April rate of 1,517,000 and 9 (+/-1) percent above the May 1997 figure of 1,422,000. Single-family authorizations in May 1998 were at a rate of 1,149,000; this is virtually unchanged (+/-1 percent) from the April figure of 1,145,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 330,000 in May; this is 4 percent above the April figure of 317,000. The May rate of permit-authorized units in buildings with two to four units was 66,000. During the first 5 months of this year, 623,700 housing units were authorized by building permits compared with 571,100 units for the same period in 1997. This is an increase of 9 (+/-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 370,000; this is 1 percent below the March figure of 374,000. The April 1997 rate was 366,000. Before seasonal adjustment, total shipments in April 1998 were 33,200. The next press release is scheduled to be issued on Tuesday, July 21, 1998, 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 1998 Current Construction Reports, C20/98-4, 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 directed to the Manufacturing and Construction Division, Residential Construction Branch, telephone (301)457-4703. NEW PRIVATELY OWNED HOUSING UNITS STARTED BY TYPE OF STRUCTURE: MAY 1998 In structures with - 3 and 4 5 units Period Total 1 unit 2 units units or more Seasonally adjusted annual rate 1997 - May 1,404 1,095 34 275 June 1,502 1,132 40 330 July 1,461 1,144 38 279 August 1,383 1,076 43 264 September 1,501 1,174 45 282 October 1,529 1,124 64 341 November 1,523 1,167 40 316 December 1,540 1,130 62 348 1998 - January 1,545 1,225 49 271 February 1,616 1,263 63 290 March (r) 1,585 1,239 45 301 April (r) 1,541 1,233 44 264 MAY (p) 1,530 1,228 40 262 AVG. RSE(%) 3 3 14 7 Not seasonally adjusted 1996 1,476.8 1,160.9 16.4 28.8 270.8 1997 1,474.0 1,133.7 18.1 26.4 295.8 AVG. RSE(%) 1 1 6 9 2 1997 First 5 months 575.9 453.5 5.8 9.3 107.2 1998 First 5 months 612.6 490.0 6.3 11.0 105.3 AVG. RSE(%) 1 1 8 13 5 1997 - May 136.3 106.2 1.2 1.9 27.0 June 140.4 108.8 1.4 2.6 27.5 July 134.6 107.4 1.9 1.5 23.7 August 126.5 98.8 1.5 2.0 24.2 September 139.2 108.3 2.2 2.0 26.7 October 139.0 99.2 2.0 4.4 33.4 November 112.4 83.7 1.6 2.2 25.0 December 106.0 73.9 1.8 2.3 28.1 1998 - January 91.2 72.3 0.8 1.5 16.5 February 101.1 78.9 0.8 3.2 18.1 March(r) 132.6 107.2 1.6 1.9 21.9 April (r) 144.5 116.6 1.7 2.3 23.8 MAY (p) 143.2 115.0 1.3 1.9 25.0 AVG. RSE(%) 3 3 13 21 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. NEW PRIVATELY OWNED HOUSING UNITS STARTED BY REGION: MAY 1998 North- Mid- Period Total east west South West Seasonally adjusted annual rate 1997 - May 1,404 123 297 624 360 June 1,502 116 311 707 368 July 1,461 146 302 668 345 August 1,383 126 277 645 335 September 1,501 139 304 696 362 October 1,529 113 328 714 374 November 1,523 182 272 661 408 December 1,540 131 337 677 395 1998 - January 1,545 159 342 665 379 February 1,616 200 367 710 339 March (r) 1,585 146 319 725 395 April (r) 1,541 132 349 688 372 MAY (p) 1,530 151 310 706 363 AVG. RSE(%) 3 9 6 4 3 Not seasonally adjusted 1996 1,476.8 132.1 321.5 661.9 361.4 1997 1,474.0 136.8 303.6 670.3 363.3 AVG. RSE (%) 1 1 2 2 1 1997 First 5 months 575.9 50.6 109.0 270.1 146.1 1998 First 5 months 612.6 54.5 119.0 288.1 151.1 AVG. RSE (%) 1 8 3 2 1 1997 - May 136.3 11.7 31.5 58.8 34.4 June 140.4 11.6 31.9 62.3 34.5 July 134.6 14.6 30.0 58.9 31.1 August 126.5 11.6 28.1 55.5 31.3 September 139.2 13.7 29.7 62.6 33.1 October 139.0 11.2 34.0 60.9 33.0 November 112.4 14.7 21.2 49.4 27.1 December 106.0 8.8 19.6 50.6 27.0 1998 - January 91.2 8.0 14.4 42.9 25.9 February 101.1 9.4 17.3 51.2 23.2 March (r) 132.6 11.0 23.3 63.2 35.0 April (r) 144.5 12.3 33.2 65.4 33.6 MAY (p) 143.2 13.7 30.7 65.4 33.4 AVG. RSE (%) 3 9 6 4 3 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 TYPE OF STRUCTURE: MAY 1998 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) 1997 - May 1,422 1,046 65 311 June 1,398 1,051 68 279 July 1,441 1,052 77 312 August 1,445 1,059 64 322 September 1,475 1,084 67 324 October 1,502 1,106 74 322 November 1,475 1,102 58 315 December 1,467 1,094 82 291 1998 - January 1,553 1,142 70 341 February 1,635 1,176 74 385 March 1,569 1,136 71 362 April (r) 1,517 1,145 55 317 MAY (p) 1,545 1,149 66 330 AVG. RSE(%) 1 1 4 2 Not seasonally adjusted (19,000 permit-issuing places) 1996 1,425.6 1,069.5 33.6 32.2 290.3 1997 1,441.1 1,062.4 34.9 33.6 310.3 AVG. RSE(%) (X) (X) (X) (X) (X) 1997 First 5 months 571.1 430.4 14.1 11.8 114.9 1998 First 5 months 623.7 470.1 12.3 13.6 127.7 AVG. RSE(%) (Z) (Z) (Z) (Z) (Z) 1997 - May 131.6 101.3 3.0 2.8 24.6 June 133.6 100.9 3.2 3.4 26.2 July 133.7 99.8 3.3 3.3 27.2 August 126.0 91.8 2.5 2.9 28.7 September 134.4 95.6 3.0 3.2 32.7 October 135.5 97.5 3.7 3.9 30.4 November 100.4 72.5 2.3 2.2 23.3 December 106.4 73.9 2.8 2.9 26.8 1998 - January 93.5 68.3 2.0 2.0 21.1 February 105.6 76.6 2.2 2.6 24.3 March 138.0 103.8 2.8 3.4 28.0 April (r) 144.7 112.9 2.7 2.7 26.4 MAY (p) 137.8 105.6 2.5 3.2 26.5 AVG. RSE(%) 1 1 5 7 2 Not started at end of period - not seasonally adjusted (19,000 permit-issuing places) 1997 - May 124.7 72.7 3.6 48.5 1998 - March (r) 128.9 73.7 4.9 50.3 April (r) 136.2 79.9 3.8 52.5 MAY (p) 134.9 77.5 5.0 52.4 AVG. RSE(%) 3 3 10 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: $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 1998 North- Mid- Period Total east west South West Seasonally adjusted annual rate (19,000 permit-issuing places) 1997 - May 1,422 129 293 624 376 June 1,398 141 299 619 339 July 1,441 138 285 657 361 August 1,445 141 304 630 370 September 1,475 136 299 646 394 October 1,502 134 295 682 391 November 1,475 144 299 651 381 December 1,467 153 321 612 381 1998 - January 1,553 174 336 667 376 February 1,635 169 356 721 389 March 1,569 146 311 733 379 April (r) 1,517 133 305 664 415 MAY (p) 1,545 134 321 721 369 AVG. RSE(%) 1 2 2 1 1 Not seasonally adjusted (19,000 permit-issuing places) 1996 1,425.6 136.9 317.8 623.4 347.4 1997 1,441.1 141.9 299.8 635.9 363.5 AVG. RSE(%) (X) (X) (X) (X) (X) 1997 First 5 months 571.1 55.3 114.6 260.7 140.5 1998 First 5 months 623.7 56.1 121.4 291.7 154.5 AVG. RSE(%) (Z) (Z) (Z) (Z) (Z) 1997 - May 131.6 12.8 29.4 55.8 33.5 June 133.6 14.0 29.2 57.1 33.3 July 133.7 13.5 27.8 58.7 33.7 August 126.0 12.9 28.3 53.4 31.4 September 134.4 12.4 28.8 57.4 35.7 October 135.5 12.5 29.5 58.0 35.5 November 100.4 10.6 21.3 44.0 24.5 December 106.4 10.7 20.3 46.5 28.9 1998 - January 93.5 9.6 14.6 45.5 23.8 February 105.6 8.7 18.5 51.7 26.7 March 138.0 11.7 25.7 67.5 33.1 April (r) 144.7 12.9 30.8 62.4 38.7 MAY (p) 137.8 12.8 31.1 62.9 31.1 AVG. RSE(%) 1 2 2 1 1 Not started at end of period - not seasonally adjusted (19,000 permit-issuing places) 1997 - May 124.7 15.1 19.9 68.4 21.4 1998 - March(r) 128.9 11.9 18.9 71.0 27.1 April (r) 136.2 11.7 19.6 72.7 32.2 MAY (p) 134.9 11.0 21.3 73.4 29.2 AVG. RSE(%) 3 9 9 4 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.