January Housing Starts Hit 11-Month High as Multi-Family Projects Surge

01:12 PM EDT, 03/12/2026 (MT Newswires) -- US housing starts increased in January to the highest level in 11 months, driven by as a surge in multi-family projects, delayed government data showed Thursday.

Housing starts rose 7.2% sequentially to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.49 million units, the highest level since February 2025, according to the Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The latest print was above the 1.34 million consensus in a survey compiled by Bloomberg.

December's reading was adjusted lower to 1.39 million units. The fresh data release was delayed due to the recent government shutdown.

"The positive homebuilding momentum that emerged late in 2025 carried into the start of 2026, though the January report points to a more nuanced backdrop," Admir Kolaj, economist at TD Economics, said in a report.

Starts on buildings with at least five units jumped 29% month on month to 524,000 units in January. The single-family component decreased 2.8% to 935,000 units. Consolidated housing starts fell in the Midwest and West regions, while the Northeast and South saw gains.

Building permits, which is a forward-looking indicator of homebuilding, fell 5.4% on a monthly basis to 1.38 million units in January, while Wall Street expected a reading 1.41 million units. Single-family unit permits ticked down 0.9%, while authorizations of buildings with five or more units slumped 13%.

Homebuilder confidence in the US unexpectedly dropped in February amid ongoing affordability headwinds and high land and construction costs, according to data released last month by the National Association of Home Builders and Wells Fargo.

"Homebuilder sentiment continues to cool, reinforcing expectations for a challenging near-term environment," Kolaj said. "While improving job growth and a gradual easing in mortgage rates should help support demand later this year, builders are likely to remain reliant on price concessions and sales incentives to move inventory in the near term."

In a report last week, Zillow (ZG) (Z, ZG) said the US housing market looks set to rebound this spring after a three-year slump, as home values gained last month for the first time in seven months and existing home sales improved.

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