Multifamily Gains Lift Overall Starts Despite Single-Family Decline

Strong multifamily growth pushed overall housing starts higher in June, while single-family production remained sluggish as elevated mortgage rates, rising construction costs and persistent labor shortages continued to weigh on the market.

Overall housing starts increased 19% in June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.43 million units, according to a report from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau.

The June reading of 1.43 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 0.2% to an 895,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate and are down 3.2% compared to June 2025. The multifamily sector, which includes apartment buildings and condos, increased 76.2% to an annualized 532,000 pace and are up 17.2% compared to June 2025.

“Single-family housing starts fell in June as elevated mortgage rates and higher construction financing costs continued to weaken builder confidence and housing demand,” said Bill Owens, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and a home builder and remodeler from Worthington, Ohio. “The newly enacted housing bill includes key provisions to help builders increase supply, including streamlined regulations and incentives for local zoning reforms, but it will take time for these measures to take effect.”

“Builders continue to face a difficult cost environment,” said Danushka Nanayakkara-Skillington, NAHB’s assistant vice president for forecasting and analysis. “Higher long-term Treasury yields have kept mortgage rates elevated, while rising building material prices, transportation costs and insurance expenses are making new construction more expensive. The monthly decline underscores the ongoing challenges facing residential construction despite a persistent shortage of available homes.”

On a regional and year-to-date basis, combined single-family and multifamily starts were 4.5% higher in the Northeast, 1.2% higher in the Midwest, 1.7% higher in the South and 4.4% lower in the West.

Overall permits decreased 3% to a 1.37-million-unit annualized rate in June. Single-family permits decreased 2.4% to an 871,000-unit rate and are down 0.2% compared to June 2025. Multifamily permits decreased 4.2% to an annualized 496,000 pace and are down 5.7% compared to June 2025.

Looking at regional permit data on a year-to-date basis, permits were 15.2% higher in the Northeast, 1.4% higher in the Midwest, 6.3% lower in the South and 0.7% higher in the West.

The number of single-family homes under construction is at 582,000 units, while number of apartments under construction is at 682,000 units.