Statistics · 2026 · Real Estate

New Construction Statistics (2026)

U.S. builders started homes at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,275,000 in August 2026, 1.2% below August 2025, according to the Census Bureau. Local offices authorized 1,431,616 housing units in all of 2025, and 919 WealthyBud metros account for 1,380,135 of them. Houston, TX and Dallas, TX issued the most permits; Sarasota, FL issued the most per resident.

MBBy Marcus Bell
Real Estate Market Analyst

EPReviewed by Elena Park
Licensed Real Estate Broker

Published October 2, 2026 · Updated October 2, 2026

Key takeaways

Housing starts ran at 1,275,000 (seasonally adjusted annual rate) in August 2026, and completions were 27.1% below August 2025.
Local offices authorized 1,431,616 housing units in 2025, 3.1% fewer than the 1,478,000 authorized in 2024.
Houston, TX and Dallas, TX each permitted about 65,200 units in 2025; the top ten metros hold 27.4% of WealthyBud's metro permits.
Sarasota, FL permitted 20.4 units per 1,000 residents, against a median of 3.9 among the 193 metros of 250,000 or more people.
171 of 289 metros that permitted at least 500 units in 2024 issued fewer in 2025, a median change of −4.5%.

How many new homes are being built in the U.S.?

Builders started homes at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,275,000 in August 2026, the Census Bureau reports. That is 2.6% below July and 1.2% below August 2025. Permits ran higher, at 1,394,000, while completions fell to 1,128,000. All three are estimates that Census revises.

1. Housing starts: 1,275,000 in August 2026 (seasonally adjusted annual rate)

The Census New Residential Construction release of September 17, 2026 puts privately-owned housing starts 2.6% (±12.0%) below the revised July estimate of 1,309,000 and 1.2% (±10.8%) below August 2025's 1,291,000. Single-family starts were 918,000.

2. Building permits: 1,394,000 in August 2026, up 3.5% from a year earlier

The same release reports permits 2.7% below the revised July rate of 1,433,000 but 3.5% above August 2025's 1,347,000. Single-family authorizations were 878,000.

3. Housing completions: 1,128,000, down 27.1% from August 2025

Completions fell 11.9% from the revised July estimate of 1,280,000 and 27.1% (±8.9%) from 1,548,000 a year earlier, per the Census release.

4. Census: 1,431,616 housing units authorized in 2025, down 3.1% from 2024

The Building Permits Survey annual highlights (released May 14, 2026) put the 2025 total at 1,431,616 units with a valuation of $378.99 billion, against 1,478,000 in 2024.

5. WealthyBud's 919 metros hold 1,380,135 of the 2025 permits (96.4% of the U.S. total)

WealthyBud's calculation: Census county permit files are summed to metro areas, then divided by Census's national 2025 figure (WealthyBud data · 919 metros · Census BPS 2025 · September 2026).

Which metros issue the most building permits?

Houston, TX and Dallas, TX lead on volume, with about 65,200 housing units authorized each in 2025; the two are 19 units apart, so treat them as tied. New York, NY follows with 47,828. The ranking covers all 919 metros in WealthyBud's permit data.

6. Houston, TX: 65,200 units; Dallas, TX: 65,181

The two metros differ by 19 units, a margin too small to name a winner. New York, NY is third (WealthyBud data · 919 metros · Census BPS 2025 · September 2026).

7. The ten largest metros hold 27.4% of metro permits

Together the top ten authorized 378,164 units out of 1,380,135 (WealthyBud data · 919 metros · Census BPS 2025 · September 2026). Texas accounts for 3 of the ten.

8. 7 of the 10 largest permit-issuing metros issued fewer permits than in 2024

New York, NY fell 18.4% to 47,828, while the metros that gained were Orlando, FL (+17.4%), Los Angeles, CA (+3.9%) and Tampa, FL (+8.7%) (WealthyBud data · 10 metros · Census BPS 2025 · September 2026).

10 U.S. metros that authorized the most housing units in 2025 (WealthyBud calculation from Census Building Permits Survey county data)
Metro	Units permitted, 2025	Change from 2024	Permits per 1,000 residents
1. Houston, TX	65,200	−1.0%	9.0
2. Dallas, TX	65,181	−9.7%	8.3
3. New York, NY	47,828	−18.4%	2.4
4. Phoenix, AZ	39,145	−14.0%	7.9
5. Atlanta, GA	33,401	−17.9%	5.4
6. Orlando, FL	27,758	+17.4%	10.2
7. Los Angeles, CA	27,700	+3.9%	2.1
8. Austin, TX	26,964	−16.5%	11.4
9. Tampa, FL	22,819	+8.7%	7.0
10. Charlotte, NC	22,168	−14.6%	8.2

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Which metros build the most per resident?

Sarasota, FL permitted the most homes per resident, at 20.4 units per 1,000 people in 2025, followed by Myrtle Beach, SC at 17.6. The median metro permitted 3.9 per 1,000 residents. The ranking covers 193 metros with 250,000 or more residents.

9. Sarasota, FL leads: 20.4 permits per 1,000 residents

That is 5.2 times the median of 3.9 for 193 metros with 250,000 or more residents (WealthyBud data · 193 metros · Census BPS 2025 · September 2026). WealthyBud divides 2025 permits by 2023 ACS population, an estimate that mixes two vintages.

10. Florida holds 3 of the 10 highest per-resident rates

The ten come from 7 states, and none of them also rank in the top ten for total permits. New York, NY, by contrast, permitted 2.4 per 1,000 on a population of 19,756,722.

10 U.S. metros with the most housing units permitted per 1,000 residents, 2025 (population 250,000 or more; WealthyBud calculation from Census Building Permits Survey county data)
Metro	Permits per 1,000 residents	Units permitted, 2025	Population (2023 ACS 5-year)
1. Sarasota, FL	20.4	17,639	865,031
2. Myrtle Beach, SC	17.6	6,511	368,937
3. Wilmington, NC	17.3	7,622	440,578
4. Cape Coral, FL	17.1	13,547	792,692
5. Fayetteville, AR	15.9	8,935	563,436
6. Ocala, FL	15.4	5,985	387,697
7. Savannah, GA	12.9	5,334	412,089
8. Bend, OR	12.3	3,122	253,650
9. Raleigh, NC	12.1	17,480	1,449,594
10. Boise, ID	11.9	9,415	790,640

Are building permits rising or falling?

Census counts 1,431,616 units authorized in 2025, down 3.1%, and August 2026 permits were 3.5% above August 2025 (seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,394,000). Among metros that permitted at least 500 units in 2024, 171 of 289 issued fewer in 2025.

11. Metro permits fell 3.1% in 2025, matching Census's national 3.1% decline

The 915 metros with both years total 1,380,131 units in 2025 against 1,425,011 in 2024, WealthyBud's calculation (WealthyBud data · 915 metros · Census BPS 2025 · September 2026).

12. 171 of 289 metros issued fewer permits (59.2%); the median change was −4.5%

The pool is metros that permitted at least 500 units in 2024; 118 metros rose (WealthyBud data · 289 metros · Census BPS 2025 · September 2026).

13. 39 of 63 metros with 5,000 or more permits in 2024 fell

Asheville, NC dropped 35.8%. The largest gains came in San Francisco, CA (+33.9%), Miami, FL (+32.5%) and Salt Lake City, UT (+32.0%) (WealthyBud data · 63 metros · Census BPS 2025 · September 2026).

The five steepest declines among metros with 5,000 or more permits in 2024:

Asheville, NC authorized 3,239 units in 2025, 35.8% fewer than the 5,048 in 2024.
San Antonio, TX authorized 9,952 units in 2025, 32.6% fewer than the 14,776 in 2024.
Lakeland, FL authorized 8,098 units in 2025, 22.0% fewer than the 10,384 in 2024.
Wilmington, NC authorized 7,622 units in 2025, 20.9% fewer than the 9,636 in 2024.
New York, NY authorized 47,828 units in 2025, 18.4% fewer than the 58,580 in 2024.

Is construction keeping up with population growth?

Permits per resident are higher in metros where population grew faster: the fastest-growing fifth permitted a median 8.0 units per 1,000 residents in 2025, against 1.8 in the slowest fifth. Of those fastest-growing metros, 15 of the 76 fastest-growing metros permitted fewer than the 3.6 median.

14. Permits per resident rise with population growth, from 1.8 to 8.0 per 1,000

Across 379 metros with 100,000 or more residents, the median rate climbs at every step from the slowest- to the fastest-growing fifth (WealthyBud data · 379 metros · Census BPS 2025 · September 2026). Growth compares the 2023 and 2018 ACS 5-year estimates; boundary changes can distort single metros, so the table uses medians.

15. 15 of 76 fastest-growing metros permitted below the 3.6 median rate

Each added at least 7.5% more residents in five years. At the other end, 18 of 75 slowest-growing metros permitted above the median (WealthyBud data · 379 metros · Census BPS 2025 · September 2026).

16. 102 of 379 metros lost population between the 2018 and 2023 estimates

Their median permit rate was 1.9 per 1,000 residents (WealthyBud data · 379 metros · Census BPS 2025 · September 2026). For migration drivers, see migration statistics and population growth statistics.

Median housing units permitted per 1,000 residents in 2025, by quintile of 2018–2023 population change (metros with 100,000 or more residents; values are rounded to one decimal, so a boundary value can sit in either adjacent fifth)
Growth quintile	Metros	Population change, 2018 to 2023	Median permits per 1,000 residents
1 (slowest growth)	75	−67.7% to −1.0%	1.8
2	76	−0.9% to +1.8%	2.4
3	76	+1.8% to +3.9%	3.5
4	76	+3.9% to +7.3%	5.6
5 (fastest growth)	76	+7.5% to +55.5%	8.0

How do today’s housing starts compare with history?

August 2026 starts of 1,275,000 are 51% of the monthly peak of 2,494,000 in January 1972 and 2.7 times the low of 478,000 in April 2009, in the monthly series that begins in 1959. The trailing 12-month average is about 1,347,000.

17. Record high: 2,494,000 starts in January 1972; record low: 478,000 in April 2009

WealthyBud's reading of the Census housing starts series on FRED (seasonally adjusted annual rate, monthly since January 1959) through August 2026. The August 2026 rate is 51% of the peak.

18. Trailing 12-month average: about 1,347,000 starts, −2.1% from a year earlier

The average of September 2025 through August 2026 compares with about 1,375,000 for the 12 months to August 2025, WealthyBud's calculation from the same series.

Average monthly housing starts by decade (thousands of units, seasonally adjusted annual rate)
Decade	Average	Highest month	Lowest month
1960s	1,407	1,820	843
1970s	1,758	2,494	904
1980s	1,498	2,260	837
1990s	1,372	1,792	798
2000s	1,537	2,273	478
2010s	994	1,548	517
2020s (through August 2026)	1,440	1,807	936

Check where supply is tight with WealthyBud’s supply-risk dashboard. For inventory on the market now, see housing inventory statistics.

What this means for buyers and investors

For buyers, new-home supply is concentrated. 7 of the ten biggest permit-issuing metros slowed in 2025, so check your metro's own trend rather than the national rate of 1,394,000.

For investors, permits per resident show where new supply competes with your rentals. Sarasota, FL permits 5.2 times the median rate.

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Frequently asked questions

How many new homes are built in the U.S. each year?

Local building permit offices authorized 1,431,616 new privately-owned housing units in 2025, down 3.1% from 1,478,000 in 2024, per the Census Building Permits Survey. Permits count units authorized, not finished, so completions and starts differ from this total, and Census revises both.

How many housing starts are there per month?

Census reports housing starts at a seasonally adjusted annual rate. In August 2026 the rate was 1,275,000, which equals about 106,250 starts in an average month. Census's 90% confidence interval on the monthly change in starts is ±12.0 percentage points, and Census revises its estimates.

Which metro permits the most new homes?

Houston, TX and Dallas, TX lead in total volume, at 65,200 and 65,181 housing units in 2025, a gap of 19 units, which makes them effectively tied. Sarasota, FL leads per resident among metros of 250,000 or more people, at 20.4 per 1,000.

What is the difference between permits, starts and completions?

A permit is a local government's approval to build. Census defines a start as the point when excavation begins for the footings or foundation, and a house as completed when all finished flooring has been installed. Permits usually come first, then starts, then completions.

Are building permits going up or down in 2026?

The latest Census release shows August 2026 permits at 1,394,000, 3.5% above August 2025 but 2.7% below July. The 2025 annual total fell 3.1% from 2024. One month does not set a trend, and Census revises its monthly estimates later.

How do I check new construction in my metro?

Look up your metro's 2025 permit total and its change from 2024 in the Census Building Permits Survey, then divide by population to compare with other metros. WealthyBud's metro pages show each metro's latest annual permit count; the supply-risk dashboard compares listings with 2019 and has no permit data.

Figures on this page combine WealthyBud’s own datasets (as of September 2026; Census permits for 2025; national starts, permits and completions for August 2026. FRED's August 2026 permits value (1,403,000) differs from the release's 1,394,000; this page quotes the release) with cited public sources, as noted per statistic. This is a demonstration research page, not investment advice.

Marcus Bell Real Estate Market Analyst

Marcus Bell leads market and career research at WealthyBud, turning public housing and labor data into plain-English answers for investors and agents. He focuses on U.S. metro housing markets, agent economics and licensing.