Housing starts in the US decreased 2.6% month-over-month to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 1.275 million units in August 2026, the lowest since October last year, from 1.309 million in July and compared to forecasts of 1.31 million. Starts in the multi-family segment slumped 22.5% to 344 thousand while starts for single unit houses were up 7.6% to 918 thousand. Regionally, starts declined in the Northeast (-44.5% to 96 thousand), Midwest (-12% to 198 thousand) and the South (-1.3% to 658 thousand) but rose in the West (32.4% to 323 thousand).