New home construction in the United States showed mixed results in August, with single-family starts rising while multifamily projects declined. Single-family starts climbed 7.6% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 918,000 units, marking a 5.2% increase compared to August 2025. The overall housing-starts rate dropped 2.6% to 1.28 million units annually, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Census Bureau.
Despite the single-family rebound, the sector remains under pressure. Construction costs, labor shortages, and economic uncertainty have kept production 4.7% below last year’s pace. Multifamily starts, including apartments and condos, fell 21.7% to 357,000 units, a 14.6% drop from the same month last year.
Builders are proceeding with caution. Permitting data reflects hesitation, with single-family permits down 1.8% in August but still 1.3% higher than a year ago. Multifamily permits declined 4.3% to 516,000 units, though they remained 7.5% above August 2025 levels.
Regional trends varied. The Northeast saw a 10% year-to-date increase in combined starts, while the South and West experienced declines.
Industry leaders attribute the slowdown to persistent challenges. “Higher mortgage rates, rising construction financing costs, and affordability challenges continue to weigh on the market,” said Bill Owens, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). Jing Fu, the NAHB’s senior director of forecasting, noted that builder surveys show ongoing caution, particularly in the face of economic uncertainty.
The Midwest stands out as a bright spot, with single-family permits up 2.9% year-to-date.
Overall building permits fell 2.7% in August to 1.39 million units annually.
Leave a Reply