U.S. Housing Construction: September 2026 Permits, Starts and Completions

The Census Bureau and HUD reported a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.4 million housing units authorized by permits in September 2026. Single-family authorizations accounted for a rate of 845,000.

Housing starts were estimated at an annual pace of 1.221 million units, while completions were estimated at 1.192 million. These measures describe different stages of the pipeline and should not be treated as interchangeable.

For a neighborhood, a permit is an early signal to investigate—not proof that homes will be ready by a certain date. Project schedules, infrastructure and construction progress provide essential local context.

The starts and completions estimates are subject to sampling uncertainty and revision. The reported monthly changes in starts and completions were not statistically significant. Data period: September 2026; source release: October 20, 2026.