Single-family building permits fell to their lowest rate since March 2023
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Permits for new single-family homes fell to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 845,000 in September, the lowest since March 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. That was 4.0 percent below August's revised rate of 880,000 and 4.8 percent below September 2025.
Total permits barely moved. They came in at 1,400,000, 0.2 percent below August and 3.0 percent below a year earlier. Permits for buildings with five or more units rose 5.9 percent from August to 503,000, which offset most of the single-family drop.
| Measure | September 2026 | August 2026 | September 2025 | Change from a year ago |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Building permits, total | 1,400,000 | 1,403,000 | 1,444,000 | −3.0% |
| Single-family permits | 845,000 | 880,000 | 888,000 | −4.8% |
| Housing starts, total | 1,221,000 | 1,288,000 | 1,319,000 | −7.4% |
| Single-family starts | 859,000 | 900,000 | 837,000 | +2.6% |
| Starts in buildings with 5+ units | 349,000 | 376,000 | 471,000 | −25.9% |
| Completions, total | 1,192,000 | 1,166,000 | 1,386,000 | −14.0% |
| Single-family completions | 840,000 | 861,000 | 944,000 | −11.0% |
Housing starts fell 5.2 percent from August to 1,221,000. Single-family starts were 859,000 and starts in buildings with five or more units were 349,000. Starts come from a sample survey, and the bureau said neither the monthly drop nor the 7.4 percent decline from a year earlier was statistically significant, since the margin of error was wider than the change. The drop in apartment starts was large enough to clear it: they were 25.9 percent below September 2025, with a margin of 21.5 points.
The West had the steepest decline. Starts there fell to 235,000, down 25.4 percent from a year earlier, a change the bureau counts as significant. The South, which accounted for 714,000 starts, or 58 percent of the national total, was up 11.0 percent from September 2025, and the Midwest and Northeast were down. None of those three changes cleared the margin of error.
Completions rose 2.2 percent from August to 1,192,000 but were 14.0 percent below September 2025. August and September were the two slowest months for completions since May 2020, when builders finished homes at a rate of 1,174,000. August's revised 1,166,000 was the lowest since September 2019.
The pipeline sent mixed signals. An estimated 1,280,000 units were under construction at the end of September, unchanged from August and down from 1,323,000 a year earlier. Another 279,000 had been permitted but not started, up 9.8 percent from September 2025.
Through the first nine months of 2026, builders started an estimated 1,036,500 homes, before seasonal adjustment, 1.1 percent fewer than in the same months of 2025. Single-family starts were down 4.0 percent, to 699,000, a drop the bureau counts as significant. Starts in buildings with five or more units were up 6.9 percent, to 327,000.
The bureau cautions that monthly changes in these numbers can be irregular, and that it can take six months to see a trend in starts. The October report is due November 18. September's construction spending figures come out separately; our story on August construction spending has the latest, and the homeownership and vacancy rates show how much housing is sitting empty. We covered June's construction numbers in July.
Sources
U.S. Census Bureau and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, New Residential Construction, September 2026, release CB26-162, October 20, 2026, with the full release and tables and spreadsheet. Comparisons with earlier months are from the Census Bureau's seasonally adjusted residential construction time series. Monthly figures are seasonally adjusted annual rates; year-to-date figures are not seasonally adjusted. Margins of error are 90 percent confidence intervals. Permit figures are based on a non-probability sample and are not subject to sampling error.
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How many housing permits were issued in September 2026?
Building permits ran at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,400,000 in September 2026, 0.2 percent below August and 3.0 percent below September 2025. Single-family permits fell to 845,000, the lowest rate since March 2023.
Did housing starts go up or down in September 2026?
Housing starts fell 5.2 percent from August to a 1,221,000 annual rate and were 7.4 percent below a year earlier. The Census Bureau said neither change was statistically significant, but the 25.9 percent yearly drop in apartment starts was.
When is the next housing starts report?
The Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development will release October 2026 new residential construction figures on November 18, 2026. The report covers building permits, housing starts, homes under construction, and completions.
