Single-family housing starts decreased 2.8% to 935,000 (seasonally adjusted annual rate) in January due to elevated construction costs and restrained affordability, according to the National Association of Home Builders.
“The single-family market has slowed as builders continue to deal with elevated construction costs while affordability conditions are a cause of concern for many potential home buyers,” said Bill Owens, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and a home builder and developer from Worthington, Ohio. “Weather effects also likely depressed single-family construction in the Northeast, where single-family starts were down 33% from December 2025 and down more than 6% compared to January 2025 readings.”
Overall housing starts, led by multifamily production, increased 7.2% in January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.49 million units, according to a report from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau.
“Permit data indicates ongoing weakness for single-family construction given the affordability crisis,” said NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz. “Meanwhile, volatile multifamily construction surged to what appears to be an unsustainable high annualized pace of 552,000 units. However, this data may be revised lower in future revisions. Furthermore, prior NAHB analysis of the geography of permit data has shown gains for apartment construction occurring in lower density areas, such as exurbs, secondary cities and small towns.”
Month over month, combined single-family and multifamily starts increased 47.4% in the Northeast, decreased 10.8% in the Midwest, increased 11.4% in the South and decreased 7.5% in the West.
