June Housing Starts Jump 19% on Multifamily Surge

U.S. residential construction activity saw a 19% increase in June, reaching a seasonally adjusted annual rate of approximately 1.3 million housing units. This surge was primarily fueled by a substantial 76.3% jump in the construction of multifamily buildings with five or more units, which reached a 513,000 annual rate. In contrast, single-family housing starts experienced a slight decrease, falling to an 895,000-unit annual pace from 897,000 in May.

Despite the headline increase, experts suggest the overall strength may be overstated due to the concentration of gains in multifamily projects. Odeta Kushi, Deputy Chief Economist at First American Financial Corporation, noted that while the report indicates resilience against elevated mortgage rates and affordability challenges, the positive data reflects a temporary boost in multifamily construction. The June starts rate was 3.5% above the 1.38 million units recorded in June 2025, but the revised May pace was 1.12 million units.

Future supply indicators, represented by building permits, showed a downward trend. Total permits fell 3% from May to a 1.367 million annual rate in June, and were 2.3% below the June 2025 pace of 1.399 million. Single-family authorizations also declined by 2.4% to an annual rate of 871,000. Permits for multifamily buildings with five or more units were at a 445,000 annual rate.

Privately owned housing completions in June reached a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.39 million units, a 3.3% increase from May's revised 1.35 million. Single-family completions rose 6.6% to a 964,000-unit annual pace, while multifamily completions were at a 413,000 annual rate. These figures represent a 1.5% increase compared to the June 2025 completion rate of 1.37 million units.