Housing Starts Down in July on Supply Chain Challenges
Supply chain and labor challenges helped to push overall housing starts down 7.0% percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.53 million units, according to a report from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau. The July reading of 1.53 million starts is the number of housing units builders would begin if development kept this pace for the next 12 months.
Within this overall number, single-family starts decreased 4.5% to a 1.11 million seasonally adjusted annual rate. The multifamily sector, which includes apartment buildings and condos, decreased 13.1% to a 423,000 pace.
“The latest starts numbers reflect declining builder sentiment as they continue to grapple with high building material prices, production bottlenecks and labor shortages,” said NAHB Chairman Chuck Fowke. “Policymakers need to prioritize the U.S. supply chain for items like building materials to ensure builders can add additional inventory the housing market desperately needs.”
“The decline in single-family permits indicates that builders are slowing construction activity as costs rise,” said Danushka Nanayakkara-Skillington, NAHB assistant vice president for forecasting and analysis. “Starts began the year on a strong footing but in recent months some projects have been forced to pause due to both the availability and costs of materials.”
On a regional and year-to-date basis (January through July of 2021 compared to that same time frame a year ago), combined single-family and multifamily starts are 27.7% higher in the Northeast, 20.8% higher in the Midwest, 18.5% higher in the South and 27.7% higher in the West. Overall permits increased 2.6% to a 1.64 million unit annualized rate in July. Single-family permits decreased 1.7% to a 1.05 million unit rate. Multifamily permits increased 11.2% to a 587,000 pace.
Looking at regional permit data on a year-to-date basis, permits are 24.9% higher in the Northeast, 23.0% higher in the Midwest, 25.9% higher in the South and 28.2% higher in the West.
Visit Housing Economics on nahb.org for additional housing data.
Latest from NAHBNow
Advocacy
Feb 27, 2026
NAHB Invests $190,000 to Advance Local Pro-Housing PoliciesNAHB's State and Local Government Affairs Committee recently approved $190,000 through the State and Local Issues Fund (SLIF) to help HBAs overcome barriers to housing affordability.
Safety
Feb 27, 2026
5 Simple Steps to Save Lives During Ladder Safety MonthMarch is Ladder Safety Month, an annual public awareness campaign presented by the American Ladder Institute (ALI) and sponsored by NAHB.
Latest Economic News
Economics
Feb 27, 2026
Price Growth for Building Materials Slows to Start the YearResidential building material prices rose at a slower rate in January, according to the latest Producer Price Index release from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This was the first decline in the rate of price growth since April of last year. Metal products continue to experience price increases, while specific wood products are showing declines in prices.
Economics
Feb 26, 2026
Home Improvement Loan Applications Moderate as Borrower Profile Gradually AgesHome improvement activity has remained elevated in the post-pandemic period, but both the volume of loan applications and the age profile of borrowers have shifted in notable ways. Data from the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA), analyzed by NAHB, show that total home improvement loan applications have eased from their recent post-pandemic peak, and the distribution of borrowers across age groups has gradually tilted older.
Economics
Feb 26, 2026
Affordability Pyramid Shows Over Half of U.S. Households Cannot Buy a $300,000 HomeNAHB recently released its 2026 Priced-Out Analysis, highlighting the housing affordability challenge. While previous posts discussed the impacts of rising home prices and interest rates on affordability, this post focuses on the related U.S. housing affordability pyramid.