US Housing Starts Unexpectedly Fall

Housing starts in the US decreased 2.6% month-over-month to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 1.275 million units in August 2026, the second consecutive decline and the lowest level since October last year, amid rising mortgage rates and constrained affordability. It compares with 1.309 million in July and forecasts of 1.31 million. Starts in the multi-family segment slumped 22.5% to 344 thousand while starts for single unit houses were up 7.6% to 918 thousand. Regionally, starts declined in the Northeast (-44.5% to 96 thousand), Midwest (-12% to 198 thousand) and the South (-1.3% to 658 thousand) but rose in the West (32.4% to 323 thousand).

Housing starts in the US dropped by 12.4% from the previous month to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 1.239 units in July of 2026. The result was firmly below market expectations of a softer drop to 1.35 million units, not far from the six-year low of 1.182 million from two months prior. Starts sank by 15.6% in multi-unit houses, while they dropped by 9.9% in single-unit housing. Among different geographical locations, units sank in the Midwest, (27.6% to 173 thousand), South (-12.6% to 645 thousand), and West (-13.8% to 149 thousand). In turn, starts were higher in the Northeast (17.1% to 164 thousand).

Housing starts in the US jumped 19% to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 1427 thousand units in June 2026, the highest in three months, compared to forecasts of 1310 thousand. It follows a revised 15.4% jump in May that sent housing starts to a six-year low. Multi-family starts soared 76.3% to 513 thousand, following a 41% plunge in the previous month. Meanwhile, single-family starts edged down 0.2% to 895 thousand, a third consecutive month of falls, as high prices and mortgage rates are weighing on demand. Starts soared in all four main regions: the South (15.2% to 741 thousand), the Midwest (33.3% to 248 thousand, the highest since 2024), the Northeast (10.3% to 129 thousand) and the West (22.1% to 309 thousand).