US building permits fall in January, housing starts climb

12th Mar 2026 13:46

(Sharecast News) - US construction data was mixed in January, with building permits falling even as housing starts picked up.

According to the Census Bureau, building permits dropped 5.4% month-on-month to 1.37m, the lowest level seen since August 2025 and below expectations of 1.41m.

Permits for multi‑family homes led the decline, dropping 13.4% to 453,000, while single‑family permits were 0.9% lower at 873,000.

Regionally, permits fell 15.7% to 305,000 in the West, 9.6% to 151,000 in the Northeast and 3.5% to 691,000 in the South, while the Midwest, on the other hand, posted a 9% increase to 229,000.

Housing starts, however, rose for a third straight month, climbing 7.2% to 1.487m, well above the 1.35m forecast and up from December's downwardly revised 1.387m reading to the highest level since February 2025.

Multi‑family starts surged 29.1% to 406,000, a four‑month high, while single‑family starts slipped 2.8% to 935,000.

Construction activity was mixed across regions, with starts jumping 11.4% in the South to 810,000 and 47.4% in the Northeast to 196,000, but falling 7.5% in the West to 307,000 and 10.8% in the Midwest to 174,000.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com