The Wall Street Journal
From the article:
Monthly figures on U.S. home-construction starts make the industry appear bipolar: down significantly in March, up big in April and down again in May.
The reality is, when the focus is broadened to the first five months of this year, home starts have exceeded last year’s tally, although the growth has slowed considerably.
Tuesday’s headlines noted that housing starts in May were 6.5% less than a month earlier. However, the Census’ monthly figures are subject to volatility and substantial revisions. You can get a more reliable picture at this point by examining year-to-date figures, which include most of the spring season.
Consider that, for the first five months of this year, builders started 396,000 dwelling units, not adjusted for seasonality. That’s up 6.6% from the same period last year.