US housing starts rose 7.2% month-on-month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.487 million in January 2026, up from a downwardly revised 1.387 million in December and well above forecasts of 1.35 million. This marked the third consecutive monthly increase, lifting starts to their highest level since February 2025. Multi-family starts jumped 29.1% to a four-month high of 406,000, while single-family starts slipped 2.8% to 935,000. Regionally, construction activity climbed sharply in the South (up 11.4% to 810,000) and the Northeast (47.4% to 196,000), but fell in the West (-7.5% to 307,000) and the Midwest (-10.8% to 174,000). source: U.S. Census Bureau

Housing Starts in the United States increased to 1487 Thousand units in January from 1387 Thousand units in December of 2025. Housing Starts in the United States averaged 1431.23 Thousand units from 1959 until 2026, reaching an all time high of 2494.00 Thousand units in January of 1972 and a record low of 478.00 Thousand units in April of 2009. This page provides the latest reported value for - United States Housing Starts - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news. United States Housing Starts - data, historical chart, forecasts and calendar of releases - was last updated on March of 2026.

Housing Starts in the United States increased to 1487 Thousand units in January from 1387 Thousand units in December of 2025. Housing Starts in the United States is expected to be 1420.00 Thousand units by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. In the long-term, the United States Housing Starts is projected to trend around 1000.00 Thousand units in 2027, according to our econometric models.



Calendar GMT Reference Actual Previous Consensus TEForecast
2026-02-18 01:30 PM
Housing Starts
Dec 1.404M 1.322M 1.33M 1.29M
2026-03-12 12:30 PM
Housing Starts
Jan 1.487M 1.387M 1.35M 1.37M
2026-04-17 12:30 PM
Housing Starts
Feb 1.487M

Components Last Previous Unit Reference
Housing Starts Multi Family 524.00 406.00 Thousand units Jan 2026
Housing Starts Single Family 935.00 962.00 Thousand units Jan 2026

Related Last Previous Unit Reference
Building Permits 1376.00 1455.00 Thousand Jan 2026
Building Permits MoM -5.40 4.80 percent Jan 2026
Construction Spending MoM 0.30 -0.20 percent Dec 2025
Home Ownership Rate 65.70 65.30 percent Dec 2025
Housing Starts 1487.00 1387.00 Thousand units Jan 2026
Housing Starts MoM 7.20 4.80 percent Jan 2026
New Home Sales 745.00 758.00 Thousand units Dec 2025
New Home Sales MoM -1.70 15.50 percent Dec 2025


United States Housing Starts
Housing Starts refer to the number of new residential construction projects that have begun during any particular month. Estimates of housing starts include units in structures being totally rebuilt on an existing foundation.
Actual Previous Highest Lowest Dates Unit Frequency
1487.00 1387.00 2494.00 478.00 1959 - 2026 Thousand units Monthly
Volume, SA

News Stream
US Housing Starts Surge to Highest Level Since February
US housing starts rose 7.2% month-on-month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.487 million in January 2026, up from a downwardly revised 1.387 million in December and well above forecasts of 1.35 million. This marked the third consecutive monthly increase, lifting starts to their highest level since February 2025. Multi-family starts jumped 29.1% to a four-month high of 406,000, while single-family starts slipped 2.8% to 935,000. Regionally, construction activity climbed sharply in the South (up 11.4% to 810,000) and the Northeast (47.4% to 196,000), but fell in the West (-7.5% to 307,000) and the Midwest (-10.8% to 174,000).
2026-03-12
US Housing Starts Jump to Five-Month High
US housing starts rose 6.2% month-on-month to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 1.404 million in December 2025, up from 1.322 million in November and well above forecasts of 1.33 million. The increase marked the second straight monthly gain, lifting starts to their highest level since July and further rebounding from October’s 15-month low. Single-family housing starts climbed 4.1% to 981,000, the strongest pace since February, while multi-family starts (five units or more) surged 10.1% to a three-month high of 402,000. Regionally, activity rose sharply in the West (up 37.4% to 334,000) and increased in the Northeast (5.6% to 152,000) and Midwest (2.3% to 177,000). In contrast, starts declined 2.8% in the South to 741,000. For the full year, an estimated 1,358,700 housing units were started in 2025, down 0.6% from 2024 and marking a fourth straight annual decline.
2026-02-18
US Housing Starts Fall to 5-Year Low
Housing starts in the United States fell by 4.6% from the previous month to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 1.246 million units, the lowest since the Covid pandemic triggered a plunge in starts in the second quarter of 2020. The decline was marked for housing with five or more units (-25.9% to 347,000), offsetting the increase for single-unit houses (5.4% to 874,000). Among different regions, starts fell sharply in the West (-21.9% to 243,000) and slightly in the Northeast (-0.6% to 154,000), offsetting increases in the South (1.2% to 650,000) and the Midwest (0.5% to 199,000).
2026-01-09