Building Permits in the United States decreased 2.1% month-over-month to 1.403 million units in August 2026, compared to initial estimates of a larger 2.7% fall to 1.394 million. Permits for buildings with five or more units fell 1.5% to 475,000, and single-family permits decreased 1.6% to 880,000. Regionally, permits fell in the Northeast (-15.8% to 128,000), and the Midwest (-5.8% to 212,000), but rose in the West (2.3% to 315,000) and were unchanged in the South (at 748,000).