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GovHousing startsThu, Sep 17 · 8:30 AM ET

Housing starts fell 2.6% in August to a 1.28 million annual rate

The Census Bureau said builders started homes at a 1,275,000 annual rate in August, down 34,000 from July and below the 1,291,000 pace of August 2025.

Macro Bullseye · · Updated

Housing starts fell to an annual rate of 1.28 million (1,275,000) in August, the Census Bureau reported. That was down 34,000, or 2.6%, from 1.31 million (1,309,000) in July.

The numbers

Aug 2026 data · released Thu, Sep 17

Housing starts, annual rate
1.28MJul 2026: 1.31M
Housing starts, annual rate, last 24 months

View the data as a table
Housing starts, annual rate, last 24 months
PeriodValue
Aug 20261.28M
Jul 20261.31M
Jun 20261.44M
May 20261.18M
Apr 20261.41M
Mar 20261.52M
Feb 20261.35M
Jan 20261.39M
Dec 20251.38M
Nov 20251.32M
Oct 20251.27M
Sep 20251.32M
Aug 20251.29M
Jul 20251.43M
Jun 20251.38M
May 20251.29M
Apr 20251.40M
Mar 20251.35M
Feb 20251.49M
Jan 20251.35M
Dec 20241.49M
Nov 20241.30M
Oct 20241.37M
Sep 20241.36M

Source: Census Bureau, via FRED (Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis). Revised figures replace earlier ones.Full release

August starts also came in slightly below the 1.29 million (1,291,000) rate of a year earlier, in August 2025.

Monthly readings have swung widely in 2026. Starts reached 1.52 million in March, dropped to 1.18 million in May and rebounded to 1.44 million in June before easing in July and August.

The report measures how many new homes builders started and how many permits were issued for future construction. The next release, covering September, is due Tuesday, October 20, 2026, at 8:30 AM ET.

What it means for your money

  • More building now means more housing supply later, which tends to ease pressure on home prices and rents over time. A slower pace of starts tends to do less to add that supply.
  • Monthly starts figures jump around, so a single month says little about the direction of housing costs. The longer run of readings gives a better guide.

Drafted by AI (Claude) from the official data and published only after an automatic check that every number in the text matches the figures above. Not investment advice. How we write these