US Housing Starts Jump to Five-Month High

2026-02-18 13:39 By Joana Ferreira 1 min. read

US housing starts rose 6.2% month-on-month to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 1.404 million in December 2025, up from 1.322 million in November and well above forecasts of 1.33 million.

The increase marked the second straight monthly gain, lifting starts to their highest level since July and further rebounding from October’s 15-month low.

Single-family housing starts climbed 4.1% to 981,000, the strongest pace since February, while multi-family starts (five units or more) surged 10.1% to a three-month high of 402,000.

Regionally, activity rose sharply in the West (up 37.4% to 334,000) and increased in the Northeast (5.6% to 152,000) and Midwest (2.3% to 177,000).

In contrast, starts declined 2.8% in the South to 741,000.

For the full year, an estimated 1,358,700 housing units were started in 2025, down 0.6% from 2024 and marking a fourth straight annual decline.



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US Housing Starts Jump to Five-Month High
US housing starts rose 6.2% month-on-month to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 1.404 million in December 2025, up from 1.322 million in November and well above forecasts of 1.33 million. The increase marked the second straight monthly gain, lifting starts to their highest level since July and further rebounding from October’s 15-month low. Single-family housing starts climbed 4.1% to 981,000, the strongest pace since February, while multi-family starts (five units or more) surged 10.1% to a three-month high of 402,000. Regionally, activity rose sharply in the West (up 37.4% to 334,000) and increased in the Northeast (5.6% to 152,000) and Midwest (2.3% to 177,000). In contrast, starts declined 2.8% in the South to 741,000. For the full year, an estimated 1,358,700 housing units were started in 2025, down 0.6% from 2024 and marking a fourth straight annual decline.
2026-02-18
US Housing Starts Fall to 5-Year Low
Housing starts in the United States fell by 4.6% from the previous month to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 1.246 million units, the lowest since the Covid pandemic triggered a plunge in starts in the second quarter of 2020. The decline was marked for housing with five or more units (-25.9% to 347,000), offsetting the increase for single-unit houses (5.4% to 874,000). Among different regions, starts fell sharply in the West (-21.9% to 243,000) and slightly in the Northeast (-0.6% to 154,000), offsetting increases in the South (1.2% to 650,000) and the Midwest (0.5% to 199,000).
2026-01-09
US Housing Starts Slump in August
US housing starts tumbled 8.5% month-over-month in August 2025 to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.307 million units, down from a slightly revised 1.429 million in July and well below market forecasts of 1.37 million. That was the fourth-lowest reading since May 2020, underscoring persistent housing market weakness as a glut of unsold new homes and a softening labor market outweighed the relief from easing mortgage rates. By category, single-family starts—the largest segment of homebuilding—dropped 7.0% to 890,000 units, their weakest level since July 2024. Multi-family starts with five or more units plunged 11.0% to 403,000, a three-month low. Regionally, activity fell sharply in the South (-21.0% to 667,000 units) and Midwest (-10.9% to 220,000), while rebounding in the West (+30.4% to 313,000) and Northeast (+9.2% to 107,000).
2025-09-17