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Permits for new housing units collapsed statewide in May when lumber prices hit record highs, new data shows.

A mere 257 housing units were permitted – 203 single-family homes, two two-families and 50 units in buildings with five or more units – according to statistics released this week by the state Department of Economic and Community Development.

The figure is over 50 percent down from April’s tally of 519 and more in line with typical permitting activity during January and February.

The decline came as lumber prices, driven by idled domestic mills and the springtime demand from homebuilders, jumped to record heights. The Random Lengths Composite index passed $1,600 per 1,000 board feet at the start of May after climbing precipitously from around $1,000 per 1,000 board feet and held above that threshold until mid-month.

The index has now dropped to $735 per 1,000 board feet but it has yet to return to 2019’s $300 to $400 range.

Year-to-date, Connecticut has seen 11 percent fewer units permitted statewide than were OK’d in 2020.