Housing Starts Fall as Market Challenges Persist
According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau, overall housing starts declined 12.4% in July to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.24 million units. Possible reasons for the reduction include economic uncertainty, rising construction costs, labor shortages, and elevated financing expenses.
The July reading of 1.24 million starts is the number of housing units builders would begin if development kept this pace for the next 12 months. Within this overall number, single-family starts decreased 9.9% to an 808,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate and are down 15.7% compared to July 2025. The multifamily sector, which includes apartment buildings and condos, decreased 16.8% to an annualized 431,000 pace and are down 8.9% compared to July 2025.
On a regional and year-to-date basis, combined single-family and multifamily starts were 11.7% higher in the Northeast, 4.5% lower in the Midwest, 3% lower in the South and 3.8% lower in the West.
Overall permits increased 5% to a 1.44-million-unit annualized rate in July. Single-family permits increased 2.5% to an 894,000-unit rate and are up 1.1% compared to July 2025. Multifamily permits increased 9.4% to an annualized 549,000 pace and are up 6.4% compared to July 2025.
Looking at regional permit data on a year-to-date basis, permits were 14.3% higher in the Northeast, 2.6% higher in the Midwest, 4.7% lower in the West and 2.1% higher in the South.
The number of single-family homes under construction is at 579,000 units, while number of apartments under construction is at 683,000 units.
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