Housing Starts Fell to 1.246 Million Annual Rate in October, Census Bureau Reports
7 reported
According to a January 9, 2026, report from the Census Bureau cited by Calculated Risk, privately-owned housing starts in October were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,246,000. This figure is 4.6 percent below the revised September estimate of 1,306,000 and 7.8 percent below the October 2024 rate of 1,352,000. Single-family housing starts in October were at a rate of 874,000, up 5.4 percent from the revised September figure of 829,000. The October rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 347,000. Building permits for privately-owned housing units in October were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,412,000, down 0.2 percent from September and 1.1 percent from October 2024. The report notes that total housing starts in October were well below expectations, and data for November is missing due to a government shutdown.
What’s reported
Privately-owned housing starts in October were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,246,000.
This is 4.6 percent below the revised September estimate of 1,306,000.
This is 7.8 percent below the October 2024 rate of 1,352,000.
Single-family housing starts in October were at a rate of 874,000, up 5.4 percent from September’s 829,000.
Multi-family starts (2+ units) decreased month-over-month and were down 7.9% year-over-year.
Building permits in October were at a rate of 1,412,000, down 0.2 percent from September and 1.1 percent from October 2024.
Data for November is missing due to a government shutdown.
Key figures
Census Bureau (source of data)
Calculated Risk (blog author)
Sources: calculatedriskblog.com
