US single-family housing starts drop 9.9% in July; factory output hits four-year high
This digest was compiled by AI from multiple sources — links to the originals are below.
U.S. single-family housing starts fell 9.9% in July to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 808,000 units, the lowest since November 2022, the Commerce Department said on Tuesday. Contract signings for existing homes fell 2.3% to the lowest since January, the National Association of Realtors reported. Factory output rose to its highest in more than four years, led by high-tech equipment and construction supplies for AI investment.
Key Facts
- Single-family housing starts fell 9.9% in July to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 808,000 units, the lowest since November 2022.
- Permits for future single-family construction rose 2.5% to a rate of 894,000 units in July and were up 1.1% year-on-year.
- Total new home starts, including multifamily structures, fell 12.4% to an annualized rate of 1.239 million units, below the 1.35 million estimate from economists polled by Reuters.
- Contract signings for existing homes fell 2.3% in July to the lowest level since January, the National Association of Realtors reported.
- The Federal Reserve's factory output measure hit its highest in more than four years in July, led by production gains for high-tech equipment and industrial and construction supplies.
Single-Family Homebuilding
Single-family housing starts fell 9.9% in July to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 808,000 units, the lowest since November 2022 and down 15.7% from a year earlier, the Commerce Department's Census Bureau said. Permits for future single-family construction rose 2.5% to a rate of 894,000 units in July, up 1.1% year-on-year for only the second yearly increase in the past two years. Total new home starts, including multifamily structures such as apartments, fell 12.4% to an annualized rate of 1.239 million units, below the 1.35 million economists polled by Reuters had estimated.
Existing Home Sales
Contract signings for existing homes fell 2.3% in July to the lowest level since January, the National Association of Realtors reported. The highest mortgage rates of the year hit in the middle of summer, pulling back contract signings, NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said. High mortgage interest rates and limited supply of homes on the market continue to hurt affordability and sales rates, NAR said.
2026 Sales Forecast
Capital Economics projects US home sales will fall to around 4.7 million by the end of 2026, the slowest annual pace since 2011. The research firm expects the housing sector slowdown to last for several years, citing high mortgage rates that keep existing homeowners locked into low-rate loans and push prospective buyers to the sidelines. Strengthening economic growth will not provide much lift to the housing market, which Capital Economics expects to remain in structural malaise.
2 sources
US single-family housing starts drop 9.9% in July; factory output hits four-year high
