US Building Permits Drop Less than Initially Thought in January

US building permits fell 4.7% month-on-month in January 2026, reaching a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.386 million, the lowest since August 2025, though the decline was less severe than the initial 5.4% estimate. Multi-unit permits plunged 12.4% to 458,000, while single-family permits edged down 0.6% to 876,000. Regionally, permits fell sharply in the West (-13.8% to 312,000), Northeast (-8.4% to 153,000), and South (-2.9% to 695,000), but rose 7.6% in the Midwest to 226,000.

US building permits fell 5.4% month-on-month to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 1.376 million in January 2026, missing market expectations of 1.41 million, preliminary estimates showed. This marked the lowest figure since August 2025, as permits for buildings with five or more units slumped 13.4% from a month earlier to 453,000, while single-family permits fell 0.9% to 873,000. Among regions, permits declined in the Northeast (-9.6% to 151,000), South (-3.5% to 691,000), and the West (-15.7% to 305,000), while it rose in the Midwest (9% to 229,000).

US building permits increased 4.8% month-over-month to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 1.455 million in December 2025, slightly above the preliminary estimate of 1.448 million, revised figures showed. The reading marked the highest level since March 2025. The gain was driven by a 20% jump in permits for multifamily buildings with five or more units, which rose to 523,000, the strongest level since August 2023. In contrast, single-family permits declined 1.7% to 881,000. Regionally, permits rose sharply in the Northeast (+42.7% to 167,000), and increased in the Midwest (+6.6% to 210,000) and West (+10.7% to 362,000), while falling 4.1% in the South to 716,000. For 2025 as a whole, approximately 1.43 million permits were issued, down 3.5% compared with 2024.