Despite the hype of soaring mortgage applications (refis, not purchases) and homebuilder stocks, housing starts tumbled 0.9% MoM in May (drastically missing expectations for a 0.3% rise), and while permits rose a better than expected 0.3% MoM, it remains very flat for the last six months.

Multi-family permits fell in May (to 820k) as single-family rose modestly (to 449k)…

The better than expected print for overall starts (at 1.294mm), was thanks to a massive spike in rental units…

Breakdown

• Housing Starts 1-Unit: -6.4%, from 876K, to 820K
• Housing Starts Multi Unit: +13.8%, from 383K to 436K 

Not exactly a picture of health for the future of millennial homeownership as rental nation remains front and center, despite plunging mortgage rates.

At least 1-unit starts got one surge from declining mortgage rates in January 2019.

Will The Fed’s Jay Powell come to the rescue? 

Go Jay Powell! Go Jay Powell!

Source: ZeroHedge & Confounded Interest