Economic Impact Group, LLC Economic Data Brief
 
Housing

New Residential Construction — August 2026

Released September 17, 2026 · Census Bureau / HUD · full release · charts & history on EconomicsGuru
Housing starts fell by 34,000 in August 2026 to 1,275, −16,000 from a year ago. Prior month: 1,309. Prior periods were revised in 12 series — figures below reflect that.
Starts
1,275
▼ −34,000 m/m
· −16,000 y/y
1-family starts
918
▲ +65,000 m/m
· +45,000 y/y
Permits
1,394
▼ −39,000 m/m
· +47,000 y/y
Completions
1,128
▼ −152,000 m/m
· −420,000 y/y

Revision check

REVISIONS DETECTED (12) — since last report. Every change below is calculated on the revised figures.
Housing starts · July 20261,239→1,309▲ +70,000
Completions · July 20261,212→1,280▲ +68,000
Single-family starts · July 2026808→853▲ +45,000
Multifamily starts (5+ units) · July 2026421→444▲ +23,000
Multifamily starts (5+ units) · June 2026499→519▲ +20,000
Housing starts · June 20261,415→1,439▲ +24,000
Multifamily permits (5+ units) · July 2026490→482▼ −8,000
Completions · June 20261,333→1,345▲ +12,000
Building permits · July 20261,443→1,433▼ −10,000
Units under construction · June 20261,264→1,256▼ −8,000
Single-family starts · June 2026897→902▲ +5,000
Units under construction · July 20261,262→1,267▲ +5,000

Key figures

Headline →August 2026July 2026M/M chgM/M %Y/Y chgY/Y %12-period trend
Housing startsREVISED
SAAR, thousands of units
1,2751,309▼ −34,000▼ −2.6%▼ −16,000▼ −1.2%
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Building permitsREVISED1,3941,433▼ −39,000▼ −2.7%▲ +47,000▲ +3.5%
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
CompletionsREVISED1,1281,280▼ −152,000▼ −11.9%▼ −420,000▼ −27.1%
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Trend bars show the level over the last 13 periods; the latest period is highlighted.
By structure type →August 2026July 2026M/M chgM/M %Y/Y chgY/Y %12-period trend
Single-family startsREVISED918853▲ +65,000▲ +7.6%▲ +45,000▲ +5.2%
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Multifamily starts (5+ units)REVISED344444▼ −100,000▼ −22.5%▼ −63,000▼ −15.5%
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Single-family permits878894▼ −16,000▼ −1.8%▲ +11,000▲ +1.3%
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Multifamily permits (5+ units)REVISED467482▼ −15,000▼ −3.1%▲ +40,000▲ +9.4%
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Trend bars show the level over the last 13 periods; the latest period is highlighted.

What stood out

  • Completions: −420,000 over the past year — the steepest 12-month decline since September 2009.
  • Single-family permits: +11,000 over the past year — the largest 12-month gain since May 2024.
  • Multifamily starts (5+ units): −63,000 over the past year — the steepest 12-month decline since November 2024.
  • 30-year fixed mortgage rate: highest since June 2025 (15 months).
  • Units under construction: 3 straight months of increase.

Full detail

Show every category and subcategory
Full detail — pipeline →August 2026July 2026M/M chgM/M %Y/Y chgY/Y %
Units under constructionREVISED1,2711,267▲ +4,000▲ +0.3%▼ −42,000▼ −3.2%
30-year fixed mortgage rate
Freddie Mac weekly average, monthly mean
6.7%6.7%▲ +0.1 pp—▲ +0.4 pp—

Sources

Economic Impact Group, LLC
Economic research for developing communities
Prepared 2026-09-17 13:21 UTC. Green marks an increase, red a decrease — direction only, not good or bad.