US building permits fell by 2.7% month-over-month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.394 million in August 2026, below market expectations of 1.41 million. Permits for buildings with five or more units fell 3.1% to 467,000, and single-family permits decreased 1.8% to 878,000. Regionally, permits fell in the Northeast (-15.8% to 128,000), the Midwest (-7.6% to 208,000), the South (-0.4% to 745,000), but rose in the West (1.6% to 313,000).