Housing Starts Down 2.6% in August

Permits Also Slip as Building Cools

The U.S. government is reporting that privately‐owned housing starts in August, 2026 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,275,000, which is 2.6% lower than July’s revised number and is 1.2% lower than one year ago. August’s rate for buildings with five units or more was 344k. Privately‐owned housing units authorized by building permits in August were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,433,000, which is 2.7% lower than July’s revised number and is 3.5% higher than one year ago. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 467k in August.