Single-Family Home Construction Jumps Unexpectedly in August

Construction of new single-family homes across the U.S. picked up unexpectedly in August, but mounting bad news for builders signals trouble ahead.Privately-owned housing unit starts rose 7.6% last month from July, to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 918,000, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development reported Thursday. The August figure was also up 5.2% from a year earlier.That was driven by strong numbers in the Midwest, West and South, where starts are up 8.3%, 7.6% and 7.5%, respectively. The Northeast continues to be the most challenged, where single-family starts are down 27% year-over-year.Total housing starts, including multifamily units, were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.275 million last month. That's 2.6% below July and 1.2% below August 2025.Compounding negative housing data is making 2026 a very difficult year for builders. July's housing starts dropped 15.7% from the same time in 2025. The same month, prices for newly built homes hit their lowest level in five years. June's starts were down 3.2%.New building permits, in the meantime, hit 1.394 million annualized, which is 2.7% below July but 3.5% above August 2025. B...