US housing starts fell 15.4% month over month in May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.18 million units, the lowest level since May 2020. April was revised down by 73,000 units from the initially reported 1.39 million, and May starts were also below the five-year moving average of 1.44 million. Building permits inched higher, creating a mixed housing-market signal in which builders sharply cut new construction even as approvals for future projects improved slightly.