Economic Impact Group, LLC Economic Data Brief
 
Housing

NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index — September 2026

Released September 16, 2026 · NAHB / Wells Fargo · full release · charts & history on EconomicsGuru
Housing Market Index fell by 3.0 pts in September 2026 to 32.0. Prior month: 35.0. Prior periods were revised in 4 series — figures below reflect that.
HMI
32.0
▼ −3.0 pts m/m
Current sales
35.0
▼ −4.0 pts m/m
Expectations
37.0
▼ −6.0 pts m/m
Buyer traffic
23.0
▪ 0.0 pts m/m

Revision check

REVISIONS DETECTED (4) — since last report. Every change below is calculated on the revised figures.
South · August 202631.0→32.0▲ +1.0 pts
Single-family housing starts · April 2026930→914▼ −16,000
Single-family housing starts · May 2026882→889▲ +7,000
Single-family housing starts · June 2026895→897▲ +2,000

Key figures

Headline →September 2026August 2026M/M chgM/M %Y/Y chgY/Y %12-period trend
Housing Market Index32.035.0▼ −3.0 pts▼ −8.6%▪ ——
 
 
 
 
Current sales conditions35.039.0▼ −4.0 pts▼ −10.3%▪ ——
 
 
 
 
Sales expectations, next 6 months37.043.0▼ −6.0 pts▼ −14.0%▪ ——
 
 
 
 
Traffic of prospective buyers23.023.0▪ 0.0 pts▪ 0.0%▪ ——
 
 
 
 
Trend bars show the level over the last 13 periods; the latest period is highlighted.
Regional indexes (3-month moving average) →September 2026August 2026M/M chgM/M %Y/Y chgY/Y %12-period trend
Northeast39.044.0▼ −5.0 pts▼ −11.4%▪ ——
 
 
 
Midwest44.045.0▼ −1.0 pts▼ −2.2%▪ ——
 
 
 
SouthREVISED31.032.0▼ −1.0 pts▼ −3.1%▪ ——
 
 
 
West28.027.0▲ +1.0 pts▲ +3.7%▪ ——
 
 
 
Trend bars show the level over the last 13 periods; the latest period is highlighted.

What stood out

  • Single-family housing starts: lowest since November 2022 (44 months).
  • 30-year fixed mortgage rate: highest since June 2025 (15 months).

Full detail

Show every category and subcategory
Full detail — builder incentives and market context →September 2026August 2026M/M chgM/M %Y/Y chgY/Y %
Share of builders cutting prices38.0%35.0%▲ +3.0 pp—▪ ——
Average price reduction6.0%6.0%▪ 0.0 pp—▪ ——
Share using sales incentives66.0%63.0%▲ +3.0 pp—▪ ——
30-year fixed mortgage rate
Freddie Mac PMMS weekly average, via FRED
6.7%6.7%▲ +0.1 pp—▲ +0.4 pp—
Single-family housing startsREVISED
SAAR, thousands of units — Census, for context
808897▼ −89,000▼ −9.9%▼ −151,000▼ −15.7%

Sources

Economic Impact Group, LLC
Economic research for developing communities
Prepared 2026-09-16 15:02 UTC. Green marks an increase, red a decrease — direction only, not good or bad.