Housing Starts Fall to 1.28 million

Housing Starts fall 2.6% in August 2026 to 1.28 million and down 1.2% from a year earlier.

• August 2026: 1.28 million
• on the month: -2.6%
• on the year: -1.2%

The print sits 27% of the way up the archived range of 1.18 million (May 2026) to 1.52 million (March 2026), with the standing trend falling.

The year-over-year comparison is against August 2025, which printed 1.29 million. Source: U.S. Census Bureau and HUD via FRED. The number above is the agency's published value, unrounded; the history and any later revisions stay queryable on the live data page.