(Bloomberg) -- US housing starts may have fallen to more than a one-year low in May, but a historic pipeline of homes under construction is seen easing an inventory crunch as those projects come to fruition. 

The number of homes under construction rose to 1.67 million units last month, the highest in government data back to 1969. Moreover, housing completions rose more than 9% from the prior month to the highest level since 2007. 

Builders over much of the past two years have been caught between robust buyer demand on one side -- turbocharged by ultra-low mortgage rates -- and unprecedented supply constraints on the other. Those pressures that limited inventory are showing signs of easing as a recent surge in borrowing costs slows sales, enabling firms to make headway on swollen backlogs.

While completions continue to lag the number of units under construction, the uptick is a silver lining after an otherwise disappointing housing starts print.

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