Home Building Shows Signs of Stabilization with Monthly Gain in Starts

Housing production bounced back in March as builders cautiously ramp up production despite ongoing headwinds.

Overall housing starts increased 10.8% in March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.5 million units, according to a report from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau.

The March reading of 1.5 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 increased 9.7% to a 1.03 million seasonally adjusted annual rate and are up 8.9% compared to March 2025. The multifamily sector, which includes apartment buildings and condos, increased 13.3% to an annualized 470,000 pace and are up 15.5% compared to March 2025.

“Housing starts posted a solid rebound in March, suggesting builders are responding to pockets of improving demand despite ongoing affordability challenges, although activity remains sensitive to interest rate movements and construction costs,” said Bill Owens, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and a home builder and remodeler from Worthington, Ohio. “Overall, the uptick in housing starts is a positive development for residential investment and signals that the sector may be stabilizing.”

“Single-family starts drove much of the monthly increase, indicating that builders are cautiously ramping up production to meet persistent inventory shortages in the resale market,” said Danushka Nanayakkara-Skillington, NAHB’s assistant vice president for forecasting and analysis. “While this is an encouraging sign, the pace of construction is likely to remain measured as builders continue to navigate elevated financing costs and labor availability. On a regional level, the Midwest continues to outshine the rest of county as the only region to have positive single-family starts growth.”

On a regional and year-to-date basis, combined single-family and multifamily starts were 36% higher in the Northeast, 7.8% higher in the Midwest, 3% higher in the South and 15.5% lower in the West.

Overall permits decreased 10.8% to a 1.37 million unit annualized rate in March. Single-family permits decreased 3.8% to an 895,000-unit rate and are down 7.9% compared to March 2025. Multifamily permits decreased 21.5% to an annualized 477,000 pace and are down 6.3% compared to March 2025.

Looking at regional permit data on a year-to-date basis, permits were 15.4% higher in the Northeast, 1.1% higher in the Midwest, 9.1% lower in the South and 6% higher in the West.

The number of single-family homes under construction is at 587,000 units while the number of apartments under construction is at 677,000 units.