Overview

• U.S. housing starts fell 8.5% in August to a 1.307 million annual rate, with single‑family starts down 7% to 890,000 and building permits down 3.7% to 1.312 million, roughly 11% lower than a year earlier.
• Builder sentiment held at 32 on the NAHB/Wells Fargo HMI in September, with buyer traffic still weak even as expectations for sales over the next six months improved.
• More builders cut prices and offered incentives to move inventory, with 39% reporting price reductions averaging 5% and about 65% using sales incentives in September.
• Mortgage rates eased to about 6.35% and markets anticipated a Federal Reserve rate cut, yet demand indicators were mixed, as MBA data showed new‑home purchase applications up 1% year over year but down 6% from July, with an estimated 730,000 sales pace.
• Regional trends diverged, with August starts weakest in the South and stronger in the West and Northeast, while Canada’s CMHC reported a 16% monthly drop in starts to an annualized 245,791 units.