Housing construction in the United States slipped 15.4% in May compared with the previous month, reaching an annualized rate of 1.18 million units, the lowest level since May 2020. April's figure was also revised down by 73,000 units from the initial 1.39 million. The five-year moving average for the indicator stands at 1.44 million units.
The decline is driven mainly by a sharp drop in multi-family construction, which fell 40.2% month‑on‑month to an annualized 284,000 units, the lowest since November 2024. Single-family starts also slipped 1.9% to an annualized 882,000 units, the weakest level since September 2025. Residential building activity is rapidly slowing.