Housing Starts Decline in August, Single-Family Sector Shows Strength
By TopHolding Editorial · Wednesday, September 16, 2026 at 8:00 PM
Housing starts fell 2.6% in August to a 1.275 million annual rate, missing consensus expectations. However, a First Trust report highlights that the decline was driven by multi-unit starts, while single-family home construction saw an increase.
According to Nate Gerze, Economist, Brian S. Wesbury, Chief Economist, and Robert Stein, Deputy Chief Economist at First Trust Portfolios, housing starts declined 2.6% in August to a 1.275 million annual rate, falling short of the 1.320 million consensus expectation. Total starts were also down 1.2% compared to a year ago. The economists note that new home construction continued to struggle in August, however, they point out that the underlying details of the report were stronger than the headline figure suggested.
The report highlights that the overall 2.6% drop in August was entirely attributable to the volatile multi-unit category, which saw starts plummet 21.7%. In contrast, single-family starts rose 7.6% to a five-month high of 918,000 units and are now 5.2% above last year's levels. First Trust's economists describe this increase in single-family starts as a
Source: Nate Gerze, CFA, Brian S. Wesbury, and Robert Stein, CFA, First Trust Portfolios — Data Watch. Read the original at ftportfolios.com.