Factory demand

Housing Starts

Name: Housing Starts, U.S. manufacturing data
Creator: MFG Calcs
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

As of Aug 2026, housing starts stands at 1,275 thousands (SAAR) (U.S. Census Bureau and HUD via FRED), falling over the recent window.

What this measures and why it matters

Housing Starts is a demand-side signal for U.S. manufacturing: it says how much work is flowing through the sector. Reading it before committing to capacity, staffing, or inventory keeps those decisions aligned with where real order volume is heading.
The figure comes from U.S. Census Bureau and HUD via FRED and is reported in thousands (SAAR). MFG Calcs archives every published value, so the chart and table below show the full recorded history rather than a single snapshot, and they extend automatically as new data lands.

Latest reading: 1,275 thousands (SAAR) for Aug 2026.
Prior period: 1,309 (Jul 2026), a decline of 34.00.
Compared with a year earlier, housing starts is down 1.2%.
Across the archived window the high was 1,522 in Mar 2026 and the low was 1,182 in May 2026.
The series has moved down for 2 consecutive periods.
16 observations have been archived so far, and this page deepens automatically each time U.S. Census Bureau and HUD via FRED publishes a new figure.

Last reviewed 2026-09-17.