Economic Trends

August U.S. Housing Starts Dip as Single-Family Rebounds

U.S. housing starts edged lower in August as a sharp decline in multifamily construction offset a rebound in single-family activity. Building permits and completions also declined from July, while permits remained above year ago levels. Get the key figures here.

U.S. housing starts moved lower in August, though single-family construction rebounded, while building permits and completions both declined.

The U.S. Census Bureau and Department of Housing and Urban Development released their Monthly New Residential Construction report for August on Sept. 17.

Housing Starts

Privately-owned housing starts in August were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.275 million, down 2.6% from July’s revised estimate of 1.309 million. Starts were down 1.2% compared with the August 2025 rate of 1.291 million.

Single-family housing starts were at a rate of 918,000, up 7.6% from July’s revised figure of 853,000 and up 5.2% year-over-year. The August rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 344,000, down 22.5% from July.

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Building Permits

Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.394 million in August, down 2.7% from July’s revised rate of 1.433 million. Permits were up 3.5% compared with the August 2025 rate of 1.347 million.

Single-family authorizations were at a rate of 878,000, down 1.8% from July’s revised figure of 894,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 467,000, down 3.1% month-over-month but up 9.4% year-over-year.

Housing Completions

Privately-owned housing completions were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.128 million in August, down 11.9% from July’s revised estimate of 1.280 million and down 27.1% from the August 2025 rate of 1.548 million.

Single-family housing completions were at a rate of 816,000, down 10.4% from July and 22.9% year-over-year. The August rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 302,000, down 15.9% from July and 35.7% from a year earlier.