In August 2026, building permits in the United States declined 2.1% month-over-month to an annualized rate of 1.403 million units. This drop was smaller than the initial estimate of a 2.7% decline to 1.394 million units. By building type, permits for multifamily structures with five or more units slipped 1.5% to 475,000, while single-family permits fell 1.6% to 880,000.
Regionally, permitting activity decreased sharply in the Northeast, down 15.8% to 128,000 units, and declined 5.8% in the Midwest to 212,000 units. In contrast, permits increased 2.3% in the West to 315,000 units and were unchanged in the South, holding steady at 748,000 units.
