Housing starts jump in May
 
Good news for the real estate market as housing starts improved above expectations in May. The Housing Starts report showed a 17.2% monthly advance to an annual pace of 517,000 in May. This is the third month of improvement and puts the index at its highest level since November. Single-family housing starts improved 7.5% in May to 401,000, while the pace of construction for buildings with five or more units was 124,000, more than double the 70,000 pace in April.
 
Building permits also increased in May, moving up 4.0% overall to a pace of 498,000. On a year-to-year basis, the number of new permits is down 47%. Permits for single-family units saw a 7.9% gain 408,000, while permits for buildings with five or more units fell 10,000 to 92,000 in May.