Overall housing starts declined 4.6% in October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.25 million units, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau. This pace reflects the number of housing units builders would begin over the next 12 months if October’s activity were sustained.
The latest residential housing market report—delayed by the federal government shutdown last fall—suggests builders have faced significant headwinds in recent months. Elevated mortgage rates earlier in 2025 restrained buyer demand and weighed on home building activity, as did persistently high construction costs, according to the National Association of Home Builders (Washington, D.C.).
Single-family starts rose 5.4% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 874,000 units but remained 7.8% lower than a year earlier. On a year-to-date basis, single-family starts were down 7.0%.
Regionally and on a year-to-date basis, combined single-family and multifamily starts increased 9.1% in the Midwest and 8.5% in the Northeast, while declining 1.9% in the West and 4.1% in the South.
