Single-family housing starts increased 2.8% from June to July to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 939,000 units, according to a report from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau.
Single-family housing starts were down 4.2% compared with July 2024.
Single-family homes under construction are at their lowest level since early 2021. There are currently 621,000 single-family homes under construction, down 1% in July and 3.7% lower than a year ago.
Overall housing starts increased 5.2% from June to July to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.43 million units.
“Single-family production continues to operate at reduced levels due to ongoing housing affordability challenges, including persistently high mortgage rates, the skilled labor shortage and excessive regulatory costs,” National Association of Home Builders Chairman Buddy Hughes said in a statement. “These headwinds were reflected in our latest builder survey, which indicates that affordability is the top challenge to the housing market.”
Single-family permits increased 0.5% to an 870,000-unit rate and were down 5.8% on a year-to-date basis.
Read the full report here.
