U.S. Housing Starts and Permits (March 2026)

Homebuilding activity rose notably in March

• Housing starts rose 10.8% month-on-month (m/m) in March to 1.50 million (annualized) units, stronger than consensus expectations for 1.38 million units. This followed a 3.0% m/m decline in February.
• March's uptick in housing starts was driven by equal strength in the single and multi-family segments, with the former up 9.7% m/m and the latter up 13.3% m/m.
• However, residential permits fell 10.8% m/m to 1.37 million annualized units in March pointing to weaker activity ahead. Permitting activity declined in both the single-family segment (-3.8% m/m) and the multi-family segment (-21.55% m/m).
• Housing starts rose across all four Census regions in March. Starts rose 24.8% in the Northeast, 12.2% in the Midwest, 9.1% in the South, and 7.2% in the West.
  
   

Key Implications

• Homebuilding activity ended the first quarter with notable strength, hitting a 15-month high in March. It is important to note that this was likely influenced by the decline in mortgage rates which took place through the end of February, with the national average for the fixed 30-year rate falling below 6% for the first time in nearly 4 years. However, mortgage rates rose by roughly half a percentage-point in March, which was likely reflected in the sharp decline in residential permits during the month and points to softening momentum heading into April.
• This trend was further evidenced by the NAHB homebuilder sentiment index which hit a 7-month low in April owing to economic uncertainty related to the spike in global energy prices. Nearly two-thirds of homebuilders surveyed reported that suppliers were raising building material costs due to higher fuel prices. Combined with the impact of revised primary metal tariff policies, higher mortgage rates, and elevated economic uncertainty, homebuilding activity is likely to remain constrained over the near-term.
  
   

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