Overview

• Total housing starts rose 5.2% in July to a 1.428 million annual rate, led by a sharp pickup in multifamily construction, while single-family starts increased 2.8% to 939,000.
• Overall building permits fell 2.8% to 1.354 million, with single-family authorizations edging up 0.5% to 870,000 but remaining near recent lows and down 7.9% from a year earlier.
• NAHB reports about 621,000 single-family homes under construction, the lowest since early 2021, as builders cite affordability pressures, high borrowing costs, labor shortages and regulatory burdens.
• Mortgage rates have eased to an average 6.58%, according to Freddie Mac, yet demand remains constrained; Reuters notes more than a third of builders are cutting prices and residential investment shrank in the first two quarters.
• Regional activity diverged, with starts jumping in the Midwest and South and dropping in the Northeast and West; separate Canadian data showed a 4% July gain in starts as tariff uncertainty weighs on sentiment.