By NAHB
Challenging affordability conditions continue to act as headwinds for the housing sector, but the industry could see lower interest rates in the near future with the Federal Reserve expected to cut short-term interest rates this afternoon.
Overall housing starts decreased 8.5% in August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.31 million units, according to a report from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau.
The August reading of 1.31 million starts is the number of housing units builders would begin if development kept this pace for the next 12 months. Within this overall number, single-family starts decreased 7% to an 890,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate and are down 4.9% on a year-to-date basis. This was the lowest reading since July of 2024 for single-family home building. The multifamily sector, which includes apartment buildings and condos, decreased 11.7% to an annualized 417,000 pace.
