By Ed Frankl


U.S. housing starts tumbled in May, reflecting persistent weakness in the sector that continues to suffer under high mortgage rates. Here are the main takeaways from the Commerce Department's report released Thursday.

--Housing starts, a measure of U.S. home building, declined 5.5% in May to a seasonally adjusted rate of 1.277 million.

--Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal had by contrast expected starts to increase to 1.38 million.

--Starts were 19.3% lower than the same month last year.

--April's starts were revised down to 1.352 million.

--Residential permits, which can hint at future home construction, fell by 3.8% to 1.386 million, well below economists' forecasts.

--The data comes after confidence among U.S. home builders weakened for a second-straight month, according to a National Association of Home Builders survey released Wednesday.


Write to Ed Frankl at edward.frankl@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

06-20-24 0903ET