Housing starts in the US beat forecasts in May, reaching the highest level since April 2022.
Housing starts rose 21.7 percent to 1.63 million units in May, according to data from the US Department of Commerce. This is the highest level on record since April 2022.
Building permits, on the other hand, increased 5.2 percent in May to 1.49 million on an annualized basis, following the decline in April.
The median expectation of economists surveyed by Bloomberg was for housing starts to be 1.42 million and building permits to increase by 0.6 percent.
The data released confirms Fed Chairman Jerome Powell’s remarks last week that the housing sector has stabilized.
However, the rise in housing loan rates continues to limit the demand for housing.