Housing starts rose 21.7% in May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.631 million units, according to Reuters. Economists expected starts to fall 0.8%; the April rate was revised from 1.401 million units to 1.34 million units.
Applications for building permits, a good indication of future activity, rose 5.2% to 1.417 million units in May.
Single-family housing starts surged 18.5% to a rate of 997,000 units, and multifamily starts rose 28.1% to a rate of 624,000 units. Building permits for single-family homes climbed 4.8% to a rate of 856,000 units, and permits for multifamily homes fell 7.8% to a rate of 542,000.
Additionally, the rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage averaged 6.77% during the week of June 12.
