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U.S. single-family housing starts fell 4.6% in September to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 859,000, according to federal housing data cited by the National Association of Home Builders. Overall starts declined 5.2% to 1.22 million units; builders cited borrowing costs, affordability pressures and construction costs as headwinds.
U.S. single-family housing starts fell 4.6% in September to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 859,000 units, according to data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Census Bureau cited by the National Association of Home Builders. The decline came as overall housing starts dropped 5.2%, to an annualized rate of 1.22 million units, reflecting a weaker pace of new residential construction.
The 1.22 million figure is an annualized pace: it estimates how many housing units would be started over a year if construction continued at September’s seasonally adjusted rate. It is not a count of homes begun during the month. Single-family starts made up 859,000 of that rate, while multifamily starts fell 6.7% to an annualized 362,000 units.
The source report says single-family starts were 2.6% higher than in September 2025, even after the monthly decline. Multifamily starts were 24.9% lower than a year earlier. These year-over-year comparisons and the monthly seasonally adjusted changes describe different periods and should not be treated as interchangeable.
Permits, which indicate planned construction rather than homes already started, also moved unevenly. Total permits decreased 0.2% in September to an annualized 1.40 million units. Single-family permits fell 4% to an 845,000-unit pace, while multifamily permits rose 6.1% to 555,000. The report gives no explanation for the difference between the rise in multifamily permits and the fall in multifamily starts.
Fewer Starts Signal Building Pressure
Housing starts matter because they track the pace at which builders begin adding new homes, a measure relevant to future housing supply. A decline in single-family starts can mean fewer new detached homes are entering the construction pipeline, although one month’s data do not establish a lasting trend or directly measure the number of homes available for sale.
The split between starts and permits also offers a mixed signal. Single-family permits fell alongside starts, while multifamily permits increased even as apartment and condominium starts declined. Permits do not guarantee construction will proceed, so the September figures alone cannot show whether the multifamily permit increase will lead to more starts in coming months.
Builders and housing-sector businesses may watch these figures for indications of demand and project conditions. The NAHB attributed the slowdown to financing and affordability pressures, but the data establish the changes in construction activity, not the precise share of the decline caused by any one factor.
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Costs and Regional Construction Trends
NAHB Chairman Bill Owens said builders were facing high mortgage rates, affordability challenges and rising construction costs. He also pointed to land and labor costs and said financing conditions and regulatory barriers affect the outlook for building. These are the industry association’s explanations for the pressures on builders, rather than findings that the federal starts report independently quantifies.
The source report also provides regional year-to-date figures for combined single-family and multifamily starts. Starts were 8.3% higher in the Northeast, while they were 2% lower in the Midwest, 0.3% lower in the South and 6.3% lower in the West. These regional comparisons cover the year to date, not September alone.
Year-to-date permit figures were higher in the Northeast and Midwest, down in the South and unchanged in the West, according to the report. The mixed regional and permit readings show why the national monthly decline does not describe every market or every category of planned construction.
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One Month Leaves the Trend Open
The September report documents a monthly decline, but the supplied source does not provide the full underlying federal release, prior-month revisions, or a longer series of monthly figures. It is therefore not possible from this material alone to determine whether the drop marks a sustained change or short-term volatility.
The reported explanations—mortgage rates, affordability, construction materials, labor and land costs—come from NAHB representatives. The source does not quantify how much each factor contributed, nor does it establish how conditions differed among builders or regions. The annualized rates are seasonally adjusted estimates, not raw counts of September construction starts.
NAHB forecast lower production in 2026 and further declines in 2027, but the source does not specify the forecast’s detailed assumptions. The actual path will depend on future conditions, and the report does not confirm what starts or permits will do in later months.
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Watch Upcoming Starts and Permits
Readers can compare the next monthly housing-starts release with September’s 859,000 single-family annualized rate and track whether permits move in the same direction. Later data can help show whether the monthly decline persists, reverses or varies between single-family and multifamily construction.
Mortgage rates, financing conditions and construction costs are among the factors NAHB representatives say they are watching. No specific next release date or further government action is provided in the source material, so the immediate next milestone is the next published federal starts and permits data.
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Key Questions
How much did single-family housing starts fall in September?
They decreased 4.6% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 859,000 units, according to federal data cited by NAHB.
What does an annualized rate of 859,000 mean?
It estimates how many homes would be started over 12 months if construction continued at September’s seasonally adjusted pace. It is not the number of homes started during September.
Did all types of housing construction decline?
Starts declined in both reported categories: single-family starts fell 4.6%, and multifamily starts fell 6.7%. However, multifamily permits increased 6.1% in September while single-family permits fell 4%.
What reasons did builders give for the decline?
NAHB representatives cited mortgage rates, affordability challenges and construction costs, as well as pressures involving land, labor and financing. The report does not quantify each factor’s effect.
Does September’s decline confirm a longer-term downturn?
No. The figures establish a monthly decline, but one month does not confirm a sustained trend. NAHB forecast lower production in 2026 and further declines in 2027, but those are forecasts, not confirmed results.
Source: rss
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