FX.co ★ US Housing Starts Plunge to Six-Year Low

US housing starts dropped 15.4% month-on-month in May 2026 to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.177 million, the lowest level since May 2020. This followed a downwardly revised 1.392 million in April and came in below market expectations of 1.43 million, underscoring the impact of elevated mortgage rates on homebuilding activity. Multi-family starts tumbled 41.6% to 284,000, the weakest reading since November 2024, while single-family starts edged down 1.9% to an eight-month low of 882,000. By region, construction declined sharply in the South (‑17.0% to 594,000), the West (‑17.2% to 264,000), and the Northeast (‑26.8% to 123,000), while the Midwest posted a 3.7% gain to 196,000. Building permits also fell, slipping 0.7% to 1.413 million and missing consensus estimates of 1.42 million.