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New Residential Construction

September 2026Released October 20, 2026

Housing starts and permits, U.S. Census Bureau

Housing starts fell 5.2% in September to 1,221,000, the second-lowest rate in 25 months

Census puts September starts at a 1,221,000 annual rate, and only May came in lower over the past 25 months. The annual decline sits in apartments, where starts in five-plus-unit buildings ran 25.9% below a year earlier while their permits rose 1.0%.

Starts, September 2026, preliminary
1,221,000Seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR)
From August
−5.2%Revised August: 1,288,000
From September 2025
−7.4%September 2025: 1,319,000
12-month average
1,345,000September sits about 9% under it
Building permits
1,400,000Nearly flat from August
Figure 1September starts were the second-lowest of the past 25 months

Privately owned housing starts, thousands of units, SAAR, September 2024 to September 2026. The axis does not start at zero.

Preliminary1,1001,2001,3001,4001,5001,600THOUSANDS OF UNITS, SAAR2024OCTJAN2025APRJULOCTJAN2026APRJUL12-monthaverage 1,345May 2026: 1,182, the one lower monthJune 2026: 1,439Starts1,221Preliminary1,1001,2001,3001,4001,5001,600THOUSANDS OF UNITS, SAAR2024OJ2025AJOJ2026AJ12-MONTH AVERAGE, 1,345MAY 2026: 1,1821,221

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, New Privately-Owned Housing Units Started (HOUST), via FRED. September 2026 is preliminary. Census revised July and August with this release. Download the data (CSV)

Privately owned housing starts fell to a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 1,221,000 units in September 2026, the Census Bureau reported on October 20. The preliminary figure is 5.2% below the revised August rate of 1,288,000 and 7.4% below September 2025's 1,319,000. Only May 2026, at 1,182,000, came in lower in the past 25 months, and September sits about 9% under the 12-month average of 1,345,000. Building permits, the earlier signal in the same release, held nearly flat at 1,400,000.

Figure 2Starts fell for a third straight month, 15.1% below June

Percent change in privately owned housing starts from the prior month, SAAR, September 2025 to September 2026. Hatched: preliminary.

−20%−15%−10%−5%0+5%+10%+15%+20%+25%PERCENT CHANGE FROM PRIOR MONTH+2.2%SEP2025−3.5%OCT+3.6%NOV+4.5%DEC+0.5%JAN2026−2.8%FEB+13.1%MAR−7.1%APR−16.4%MAY+21.7%JUN−4.9%JUL−5.9%AUG−5.2%SEP2026Preliminary−20−100+10+20% CHANGE FROM PRIOR MONTHSep 2025+2.2Oct 2025−3.5Nov 2025+3.6Dec 2025+4.5Jan 2026+0.5Feb 2026−2.8Mar 2026+13.1Apr 2026−7.1May 2026−16.4Jun 2026+21.7Jul 2026−4.9Aug 2026−5.9Sep 2026 P−5.2

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, HOUST via FRED. The full table is at the foot of this page.

Starts have now declined for three straight months, and the September rate is 15.1% below June's 1,439,000. (June followed May's low with a 21.7% jump, the largest monthly move in the table.)

What moved

The South rose 6.1% while the West fell 23.2%

The South was the only region where starts rose. Its rate climbed 6.1% to 714,000 and is 11.0% above a year ago, which leaves 58.5% of national starts in that one region. The West fell 23.2% to 235,000 and the Midwest fell 19.0% to 158,000. Northeast starts held at 114,000, which is 30.9% below September 2025.

Figure 3Only the South gained from August to September

Housing starts by Census region, thousands of units, SAAR. Open dot: August 2026. Solid dot: September 2026, preliminary.

0200400600800THOUSANDS OF UNITS, SAARFROM AUGUSTSouth714+6.1%West235−23.2%Midwest158−19.0%Northeast1140.0%0200400600800THOUSANDS OF UNITS, SAARSouth+6.1%714West−23.2%235Midwest−19.0%158Northeast0.0%114

Share of September 2026 starts by region

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, regional starts via FRED. Regional table (CSV), 25 months by region (CSV)

By structure type

Five-plus starts fell 25.9% from a year earlier as their permits rose 1.0%

By structure type, single-family starts fell 4.6% to 859,000 and are still 2.6% above September 2025. The annual decline sits in apartments. Starts in buildings with five or more units fell 7.2% from August to 349,000, and they are 25.9% below a year ago. That is 122,000 fewer units at an annual rate, more than the 98,000-unit drop in total starts over the same 12 months.

Figure 4Five-plus starts fell by 122,000, more than the 98,000 drop in all starts

Change in housing starts from September 2025 to September 2026, units, SAAR

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, New Residential Construction, September 2026. Structure table (CSV)

Permits for those buildings went the other way. Census counted 503,000 five-plus-unit authorizations in September, up 5.9% from August's 475,000 and 1.0% above a year earlier. Single-family permits fell 4.0% to 845,000.

Figure 5In five-plus buildings, permits held at last year's level while starts fell about a quarter

Starts and permits by structure type, thousands of units, SAAR, September 2025 and September 2026. Both panels share one scale from zero. September 2026 is preliminary.

SINGLE-FAMILY02505007501,000SEP 2025SEP 2026Starts 859+2.6% yr/yrPermits 845−4.8% yr/yr888837FIVE OR MORE UNITS02505007501,000SEP 2025SEP 2026Permits 503+1.0% yr/yrStarts 349−25.9% yr/yr498471SINGLE-FAMILY02505007501,000SEP 2025SEP 2026Starts 859+2.6% yr/yrPermits 845−4.8% yr/yr888837FIVE OR MORE UNITS02505007501,000SEP 2025SEP 2026Permits 503+1.0% yr/yrStarts 349−25.9% yr/yr498471

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, New Residential Construction, September 2026, and permits by structure type via FRED.

So the release shows multifamily authorizations near last year's level while multifamily groundbreakings sit about a quarter lower. If that spread holds through the fall, the count of permitted apartment projects waiting to start will keep growing. One month of permits does not show whether those projects are delayed or simply early in the queue.

Further down the pipeline

Completions rose 2.2% in September and sit 14.0% below a year ago

Further down the pipeline, completions rose 2.2% to 1,192,000 but are 14.0% below a year ago. Units under construction held at 1,280,000 for a second month, 3.3% below September 2025.

Figure 6Permits held near 1.4 million while completions fell

Privately owned housing units, thousands, SAAR, September 2024 to September 2026. All four panels share one scale, which does not start at zero. Gray lines repeat the other three series.

1,2001,4001,600SEP 2024SEP 2026PERMITS1,400 −3.0% yr/yrSEP 2024SEP 2026STARTS1,221 −7.4% yr/yrSEP 2024SEP 2026COMPLETIONS1,192 −14.0% yr/yrSEP 2024SEP 2026UNDER CONSTRUCTION1,280 −3.3% yr/yr1,2001,4001,600SEP 24SEP 26PERMITS1,400 −3.0% yr/yrSEP 24SEP 26STARTS1,221 −7.4% yr/yr1,2001,4001,600SEP 24SEP 26COMPLETIONS1,192 −14.0% yr/yrSEP 24SEP 26UNDER CONSTRUCTION1,280 −3.3% yr/yr

Source: U.S. Census Bureau data published on FRED (PERMIT, HOUST, COMPUTSA, UNDCONTSA). September 2026 is preliminary. Download the data (CSV)

How to use this number

In the West and Midwest, starts fell more than three times as fast as the nation

Start with the regional line that matches your backlog. A site or framing contractor in the South saw starts rise 6.1% in September even as the national rate fell. In the West and Midwest, the drops of 23.2% and 19.0% were more than three times the national figure. Put your residential bid invitations by month next to your region's starts for the last 13 months. If your invitations fell less than regional starts, you are holding share of a smaller market. A steeper fall in invitations than in starts points to your own pipeline, and that belongs in your backlog-in-months calculation.

Anyway, multifamily trades should watch the five-plus permit line as closely as starts. Starts describe work reaching the ground now, while permits describe work that has cleared approval and may still be months from mobilization. A concrete, framing or MEP subcontractor can keep a list of multifamily projects in preconstruction that have permits in hand but no start date. If that list grows while the national five-plus starts stay near 349,000, your experience matches the release. The August permits post has the regional permit detail for the month before.

Revisions and caveats

Census raised July by 60,000 and August by 13,000

September's figures are preliminary, and this release revised the two months before it:

  1. July starts moved from 1,309,000 to 1,369,000, up 60,000 or 4.6%.
  2. August starts moved from 1,275,000 to 1,288,000, up 13,000 or 1.0%.
  3. With the higher July base, August's monthly decline is now 5.9%. The earlier estimates showed a 2.6% decline.
Figure 7Both revisions raised the earlier estimates

Housing starts before and in the October 20 release, thousands of units, SAAR. The axis does not start at zero.

1,2501,3001,3501,400STARTS, THOUSANDS OF UNITS, SAARJuly 2026was 1,309now 1,369+60,000, +4.6%August 2026was 1,275now 1,288+13,000, +1.0%1,2501,3001,3501,400STARTS, THOUSANDS OF UNITS, SAARJuly 2026+60,000, +4.6%1,3091,369August 2026+13,000, +1.0%1,2751,288

Source: ALFRED vintage of October 19, 2026, and the current FRED series. Download the revisions (CSV)

Starts come from a sample survey, and Census prints a range beside each change. The 5.2% monthly decline carries a range of plus or minus 11.8%, and the 7.4% annual decline carries plus or minus 11.5%. Both ranges include zero, so this sample cannot tell either change apart from no change at all. The same holds for the 4.6% single-family decline (plus or minus 10.0%). The 14.0% annual drop in completions, at plus or minus 11.1%, is the one change in the release text whose range excludes zero. The permit figures carry no range in the release.

Figure 8Only the 14.0% drop in completions has a range that excludes zero

Percent change and the range Census prints beside it, September 2026 release. Bar: the change plus or minus the range. Dark bar: the range excludes zero.

−30%−20%−10%0+10%PERCENT CHANGE AND THE RANGE CENSUS PRINTSTotal starts, from August−5.2% ± 11.8Total starts, from September 2025−7.4% ± 11.5Single-family starts, from August−4.6% ± 10.0Completions, from September 2025−14.0% ± 11.1−30%−20%−10%0+10%PERCENT CHANGE AND THE RANGE CENSUS PRINTSTotal starts, from August−5.2% ± 11.8Total starts, from September 2025−7.4% ± 11.5Single-family starts, from August−4.6% ± 10.0Completions, from September 2025−14.0% ± 11.1

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, New Residential Construction, September 2026.

Regional estimates draw on smaller slices of the same sample. A one-month swing such as the West's 23.2% drop deserves a second month of data before it changes a staffing or bidding decision.

The data

Starts ranged from 1,182,000 to 1,522,000 over the last 13 months

Table 1Housing starts, last 13 months, thousands of units, SAAR
MonthStartsFrom prior monthBarFrom a year earlierBar
September 20251,319+2.2%−2.8%
October 20251,273−3.5%−7.1%
November 20251,319+3.6%+1.5%
December 20251,378+4.5%−7.8%
January 20261,385+0.5%+2.4%
February 20261,346−2.8%−9.7%
March 20261,522+13.1%+13.1%
April 20261,414−7.1%+1.0%
May 20261,182−16.4%−8.3%
June 20261,439+21.7%+4.4%
July 20261,369−4.9%−4.4%
August 20261,288−5.9%−0.2%
September 2026 P1,221−5.2%−7.4%

P: preliminary. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, HOUST via FRED. Download (CSV)

Table 2Starts by Census region, thousands of units, SAAR
RegionAug 2026Sep 2026 PFrom prior monthSep 2025From a year earlierShare of Sep
Northeast1141140.0%165−30.9%9.3%
Midwest195158−19.0%196−19.4%12.9%
South673714+6.1%643+11.0%58.5%
West306235−23.2%315−25.4%19.2%
United States1,2881,221−5.2%1,319−7.4%100.0%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau via FRED. Download (CSV)

Table 3Starts, permits, completions and units under construction, thousands of units, SAAR
MeasureStructureAug 2026Sep 2026 PFrom prior monthSep 2025From a year earlier
StartsAll units1,2881,221−5.2%1,319−7.4%
StartsSingle-family900859−4.6%837+2.6%
Starts5 or more units376349−7.2%471−25.9%
PermitsAll units1,4031,400−0.2%1,444−3.0%
PermitsSingle-family880845−4.0%888−4.8%
Permits5 or more units475503+5.9%498+1.0%
CompletionsAll units1,1661,192+2.2%1,386−14.0%
Under constructionAll units1,2801,2800.0%1,323−3.3%
Under constructionSingle-family5875870.0%604−2.8%
Under construction5 or more units6776770.0%699−3.1%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, New Residential Construction, September 2026. Download (CSV)