Single-family housing starts rebounded in August, but production remains down 4.7% year to date as builders contend with rising construction costs, lot and labor shortages, and economic uncertainty.
Overall housing starts decreased 2.6% in August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.28 million units, according to a report from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau. This pace reflects the number of housing units builders would begin over the next 12 months if August’s activity were sustained.
Within this overall number, single-family starts increased 7.6% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 918,000 units and were up 5.2% from August 2025. The multifamily sector, which includes apartment buildings and condos, decreased 21.7% to an annualized 357,000 pace and was down 14.6% from a year earlier.
Regionally, on a year-to-date basis, combined single-family and multifamily starts were 10% higher in the Northeast, 0.4% lower in the Midwest, 2.4% lower in the South, and 3% lower in the West.
Overall permits decreased 2.7% to a 1.39-million-unit annualized rate in August. Single-family permits decreased 1.8% to an 878,000-unit rate but were up 1.3% compared to August 2025. Multifamily permits decreased 4.3% to an annualized 516,000 pace but were up 7.5% from a year earlier.
Looking at regional permit data on a year-to-date basis, total permits were 12.5% higher in the Northeast, 2.7% higher in the Midwest, 3.5% lower in the South, and 1.7% higher in the West. For single-family permits, the Midwest has shown resilience with single-family permits up 2.9% year to date, while the Northeast, South, and West continue to post declines. Year-to-date declines in single-family permits show builders remain cautious about future construction, a trend reflected in our recent builder surveys.
The total number of housing units under construction stood at 1.27 million in August, down 3.2% from a year earlier. Single-family homes under construction totaled 589,000, a 3.4% year-over-year decline. Multifamily units under construction fell to 682,000, down 3% from a year ago and well below the peak of more than 1 million units reached in December 2023.
Housing completions also continued to soften. Single-family completions fell to an annual rate of 816,000 units, down 22.9% from a year earlier. Multifamily completions for buildings with five or more units declined 35.7% year over year to a 302,000-unit pace.
This article was originally published by a eyeonhousing.org . Read the Original article here. .
Construction Firms
1. Expectations improve modestly. The Expected Business Activity Indicator related to project inquiries and new committed projects increased 3 points to 58 for Q2 2026 (from 55 for Q1 2026). The quarter-over-quarter gain was driven by improved expectations for new committed projects, which rose to 59 (up from 53 for Q1), while project inquiries held steady at 57.
Trends diverge across firm types. Design-build remodelers report a strong rebound, with the indicator increasing 10 points to 66 (from 56 for Q1), supported by gains in both inquiries and newly committed projects. In contrast, build-only remodelers declined 5 points to 50 (from 55 for Q1), reflecting softer expectations across both components.
The indicator is based on survey questions about whether businesses expect the number of project inquiries and new committed projects to increase, decrease or remain unchanged in the coming three months compared with the previous three months.
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