What the US housing starts measures
Housing starts count new privately owned homes on which construction began during the month – both single-family houses and units in apartment buildings – reported by the Census Bureau with the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The figure is seasonally adjusted and expressed as an annual rate, in millions of units: 1.4M means starts that month were running at a pace of 1.4 million homes a year.
How to read this chart
Housing starts typically peak and begin to fall well before a recession and recover early in an expansion, because construction is very sensitive to mortgage rates. The deep, long trough after 2006 shows the housing bust; the very high readings of the early 1970s reflect the baby-boom generation forming households.
The latest reading in context
- At 1.22M, the latest reading is below its 5-year average of 1.43M and below its 10-year average of 1.38M.
- Of all 813 monthly readings since January 1959, 25% were lower than today’s and 75% were higher.
- Direction: down 5.2% over the past month; down 19.8% over the past six months; down 7.4% over the past year.
- The highest value on record is 2.49M (January 1972, 54 years ago); the lowest is 0.48M (April 2009, 17 years ago).
- The full history spans 9 US recessions, shaded grey on the chart.
Why it matters
Each new home creates construction jobs and demand for materials, appliances and furniture, so building activity has an outsized influence on the economy. Starts also determine future housing supply: years of underbuilding after 2008 are widely blamed for today’s housing shortage and high home prices.
What moves the US housing starts
- Mortgage rates and credit availability for builders
- Household formation and population growth
- Land, labor and material costs
- Inventory of existing homes for sale
Key moments in its history
- Jan 1972A record of nearly 2.5 million annual rate.
- Jan 2006Peaked above 2.2 million during the housing bubble.
- Apr 2009Fell below 500,000, the lowest on record.
- 2021–2022Returned to about 1.6–1.8 million, the most since 2006.
Housing Starts data tables
Average by decade
| Decade | Average | High | Low |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020s (so far) | 1.44M | 1.81M | 0.94M |
| 2010s | 0.99M | 1.55M | 0.52M |
| 2000s | 1.54M | 2.27M | 0.48M |
| 1990s | 1.37M | 1.79M | 0.80M |
| 1980s | 1.50M | 2.26M | 0.84M |
| 1970s | 1.76M | 2.49M | 0.90M |
| 1960s | 1.41M | 1.82M | 0.84M |
| 1950s | 1.54M | 1.67M | 1.35M |
Last 12 months
| Period | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2026 | 1.22M | −5.2% |
| Aug 2026 | 1.29M | −5.9% |
| Jul 2026 | 1.37M | −4.9% |
| Jun 2026 | 1.44M | +21.7% |
| May 2026 | 1.18M | −16.4% |
| Apr 2026 | 1.41M | −7.1% |
| Mar 2026 | 1.52M | +13.1% |
| Feb 2026 | 1.35M | −2.8% |
| Jan 2026 | 1.39M | +0.5% |
| Dec 2025 | 1.38M | +4.5% |
| Nov 2025 | 1.32M | +3.6% |
| Oct 2025 | 1.27M | −3.5% |
Monthly values. Decade figures are averages of the monthly values in each decade. The complete history is available as a CSV file.
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Housing Starts: questions and answers
What is a housing start?
The start of excavation for the foundation of a new privately owned home. For apartment buildings, each unit counts as a start when work on the building begins.
What does “seasonally adjusted annual rate” mean?
The monthly count is adjusted for normal seasonal swings, such as slower winter building, and multiplied to show the pace for a full year.
Why are housing starts a leading indicator?
Construction responds quickly to interest rates and buyer confidence, so it often turns down before the overall economy and recovers before it.
Where does the data on this chart come from?
From the U.S. Census Bureau. ChartWidgets downloads the series (HOUST) from FRED, the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis database, and checks for new releases every day. The last update was on November 1, 2026.