search
cart
facebook instagram twitter linkedin youtube
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
  • NEWS
  • PRODUCTS
    • FEATURED PRODUCTS
  • CONTRACTORS
    • BATH & KITCHEN PRO
    • BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
    • HIGH EFFICIENCY HOMES
    • TECHNOLOGY
    • WATER TREATMENT
    • PMC COLUMNS
      • Dave Yates: Contractor’s Corner
      • John Siegenthaler: Hydronics Workshop
      • Kenny Chapman: The Blue Collar Coach
      • Matt Michel: Service Plumbing Pros
      • Scott Secor: Heating Perceptions
  • ENGINEERS
    • CONTINUING EDUCATION
    • DECARBONIZATION | ELECTRIFICATION
    • FIRE PROTECTION
    • GEOTHERMAL | SOLAR THERMAL
    • PIPING | PLUMBING | PVF
    • PME COLUMNS
      • Christoph Lohr: Strategic Plumbing Insights
      • David Dexter: Plumbing Talking Points
      • James Dipping: Engineer Viewpoints
      • John Seigenthaler: Renewable Heating Design
      • Lowell Manalo: Plumbing Essentials
      • Misty Guard: Guard on Compliance
  • RADIANT & HYDRONICS
    • RADIANT COMFORT REPORT
    • THE GLITCH & THE FIX
  • INSIGHTS
    • CODES
    • GREEN PLUMBING & MECHANICAL
    • PROJECT PROFILES
    • COLUMNS
      • Codes Corner
      • Natalie Forster: Editorial Opinion
      • Guest Editorial
    • SPONSOR INSIGHTS
  • MEDIA
    • EBOOKS
    • PODCASTS
    • VIDEOS
    • WEBINARS
  • RESOURCES
    • INDUSTRY CALENDAR
    • DIRECTORIES
    • PM BOOKSTORE
    • CE CENTER
    • MARKET RESEARCH
    • CLASSIFIEDS
  • EMAGAZINE
    • EMAGAZINE
    • ARCHIVE ISSUES
    • CONTACT
    • ADVERTISE
    • PME EMAGAZINE ARCHIVES
  • SIGN UP!

Multi-Family Housing Permits Jump in May

June 16, 2011
IHS Global Insight has reported that May housing starts rose 3.5% to a 560,000 annual rate.

IHS Global Insight has reported that May housing starts rose 3.5% to a 560,000 annual rate and that single-family and multi-family starts increased 3.7% and 2.9%, respectively. Housing permits jumped 8.7% to a 612,000 annual rate with single-family permits increasing 2.5%, and multi-family permits jumping at 23.2%.

According to U.S. Economist Patrick Newport, the key numbers in this report are the permits, not the starts. Permits are better measured than starts, are less influenced by weather, and are a good leading indicator for housing. Single-family permits - the key number in this report - rose 2.5%, to a 405,000 annual rate, the 12th lowest reading on record (data start in 1960). The bottom line: single-family home construction remains stuck near the bottom, and the near-term outlook is for more of the same.  

Multi-family permits - the second most important number in the report - jumped 23.2% to a 207,000 annual rate, the highest level since January 2009. Overall, multi-family permits are trending up ever so slightly ­nationally, and in the West and South. This trend should pick up since the rental market is strengthening - at the expense of the single-family market.  

Housing starts increased 3.5% to a 560,000 annual rate (13th lowest reading on record; data start in 1946), and April’s estimates were revised up. Single-family starts increased 3.7% to a 419,999 annual rate (10th lowest reading on record; data start in 1959). Multi-family starts rose 2.9% to a 141,000 annual rate.  

According to the Joint Center for Housing Studies report on The State of the Nation's Housing 2011, the number of renters of households increased by 692,000 on average annually from 2006 to 2010, while the number of owner occupied households decreased by 201,011 annually. During this period, the homeownership rate fell from 69% (at the end of 2005) to 66.5% at the end of 2010. This massive shift from owning a home to renting implies that the multi-family market will come back much more quickly than the single-family market.


Source: IHS Global Insight

Links

  • Follow PM on Twitter!

Share This Story

Looking for a reprint of this article?
From high-res PDFs to custom plaques, order your copy today!

Recommended Content

JOIN TODAY
to unlock your recommendations.

Already have an account? Sign In

  • Worker using the Milwaukee Tool SWITCH PACK drain cleaner

    Pipeline profits: Drain cleaning, pipe inspection create opportunities

    Drain cleaning and inspection services offer lucrative...
    Green Plumbing and Mechanical
    By: Nicole Krawcke
  • Uponor employee, Arturo Moreno

    The reinvestment in American manufacturing and training

    Plumbing & Mechanical Chief Editor Nicole Krawcke and...
    Plumbing News
    By: Nicole Krawcke and Natalie Forster
  • March 2024 Women in Plumbing hero image of woman engineer overlayed by circle of hexagon shapes with numbers from 1 to 10

    Celebrating 10 Influential Women in the Plumbing Industry

    Celebrating Women's History Month and Women in...
    Plumbing News
    By: Nicole Krawcke
Manage My Account
  • eNewsletters
  • Online Registration
  • Subscription Customer Service
  • eMagazine
  • Manage My Preferences

More Videos

Sponsored Content

Sponsored Content is a special paid section where industry companies provide high quality, objective, non-commercial content around topics of interest to the Plumbing & Mechanical audience. All Sponsored Content is supplied by the advertising company and any opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and not necessarily reflect the views of Plumbing & Mechanical or its parent company, BNP Media. Interested in participating in our Sponsored Content section? Contact your local rep!

close
  • J.J. Keller CMV vehicles on road
    Sponsored byJ. J. Keller & Associates, Inc.

    The dash cam game-changer for small business safety

Popular Stories

Heat pump of air-water technology for the home.

Rethinking Heat Transfer: Why 'Natural' Isn't Always Ideal for Air-to-Water Systems

Bath & Kitchen Pro 2025 Cover 900x550 hero image

eBook | Fifth annual Bath & Kitchen Pro

Solar rooftop on apartment condo building in Nashville, Tennessee. Production of clean ecological electrical energy. Renewable electricity with zero emission.

The Age of Deregulation? Proposed Changes to Federal Energy Efficiency and Water Conservation Standards

2025 Bath & Kitchen Pro eBook

Events

November 13, 2024

Future Proofing MEP: Navigating the 2026 High Efficiency Water Heating Standards

Join our deep dive into DOE’s new standards so you can future-proof your MEP practice.

EARN: 0.1 ASPE CEU; 1 AIA LU/HSW; 0.1 IACET CEU*; 1 PDH

View All Submit An Event

Poll

Will business be up or down in 2025?

Do you anticipate business in 2025 to be up or down in comparison to 2024?
View Results Poll Archive

Products

The Water Came To A Stop

The Water Came To A Stop

See More Products

Download the FREE Water Conservation, Quality & Safety eBook: Plumbing Trends Increasing Safe Water Availability

Related Articles

  • Single-Family Housing Starts And Permits Decline In June

    See More
  • May 16, 2007 - Housing Permits Down, But Construction Up - For Now

    See More
  • Web Exclusive: Housing Starts Jump In January

    See More

Related Products

See More Products
  • what hydronics taught holohan.jpg

    What Hydronics Taught Holohan: A Memoir of Life in the Heating Industry

  • M:\General Shared\__AEC Store Katie Z\AEC Store\Images\Plumbing\new sites\lessons_learned_in_the_boil.gif

    Lessons Learned in a Boiler Room: A common sense approach to servicing and installing commercial boilers

See More Products

Events

View AllSubmit An Event
  • June 25, 2025

    Optimizing Plumbing Solutions for Single-Family, Multi-Family & Public Spaces

    Join us for an exclusive webinar designed for plumbing professionals looking to optimize their product selections for different applications, including single-family homes, multi-family housing, and public spaces.
View AllSubmit An Event
×

Keep your content unclogged with our newsletters!

Stay in the know on the latest plumbing & piping industry trends.

JOIN TODAY!
  • RESOURCES
    • Advertise
    • Contact Us
    • Directories
    • Store
    • Want More
    • Supply House Times
  • SIGN UP TODAY
    • Create Account
    • eMagazine
    • eNewsletter
    • Customer Service
    • Manage Preferences
  • SERVICES
    • Marketing Services
    • Reprints
    • Market Research
    • List Rental
    • Survey/Respondent Access
  • STAY CONNECTED
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • YouTube
    • X (Twitter)
  • PRIVACY
    • PRIVACY POLICY
    • TERMS & CONDITIONS
    • DO NOT SELL MY PERSONAL INFORMATION
    • PRIVACY REQUEST
    • ACCESSIBILITY

Copyright ©2025. All Rights Reserved BNP Media.

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing