Data Analysis

U.S. housing completions ran at a 1.192 million annual rate in September 2026, 14.0 percent below a year earlier, while housing starts were 1.221 million and building permits were 1.400 million.

Census reported September starts and permits on October 20. The year-over-year drop in completions was the only headline change outside its margin of error.

Privately owned housing completions in the United States ran at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,192,000 in September 2026, down 14.0 percent (plus or minus 11.1 percent) from 1,386,000 in September 2025, according to the New Residential Construction report the Census Bureau and HUD released on Tuesday, October 20, 2026. Housing starts were 1,221,000 and building permits were 1,400,000. The monthly and yearly changes in starts were within their margins of error, so Census cannot say whether starts rose or fell. In the South, the region that includes Florida, completions fell 21.3 percent from a year earlier, also a statistically significant decline.

What did the Census Bureau report for September housing starts?

Total housing starts were 1,221,000 at a seasonally adjusted annual rate in September, compared with a revised 1,288,000 in August and 1,319,000 in September 2025. Those are declines of 5.2 percent (plus or minus 11.8 percent) over the month and 7.4 percent (plus or minus 11.5 percent) over the year. Because each confidence interval is wider than the change, neither decline is statistically significant at the 90 percent level Census uses.

Single-family starts were 859,000, down 4.6 percent (plus or minus 10.0 percent) from a revised 900,000 in August, also not significant. Starts in buildings with five units or more were 349,000, down 7.2 percent (plus or minus 27.7 percent) from 376,000 in August and 25.9 percent (plus or minus 21.5 percent) from 471,000 a year earlier. That last change is larger than its interval, so the year-over-year drop in apartment-building starts is statistically significant.

What happened to building permits?

Building permits, the earliest signal in the report, were issued at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,400,000 in September, 0.2 percent below the revised August rate of 1,403,000 and 3.0 percent below the 1,444,000 of September 2025. Single-family permits were 845,000, down 4.0 percent from 880,000 in August. Permits for buildings with five units or more were 503,000, up 5.9 percent from August and 1.0 percent from a year earlier.

Census does not publish confidence intervals for permits, because they come from a survey of permit-issuing places rather than a probability sample.

Why do completions matter more than starts this month?

Completions are homes that are finished and ready to sell or rent, so they are the part of construction that adds to supply right now. The 14.0 percent year-over-year decline is the one headline change in this report that Census can distinguish from sampling error. Over the month, completions rose 2.2 percent (plus or minus 10.8 percent), which is not significant.

Fewer completions follow from the slowdown in starts over the past several years. The chart shows total starts falling from a peak of 1.807 million in April 2022 to a range mostly between 1.2 and 1.5 million since 2023, with a low of 1.182 million in May 2026. Homes started then are the homes finishing now.

What do the South region figures show for Florida?

Census does not publish state-level starts in this report, but it does publish the South, which includes Florida along with Texas, Georgia, the Carolinas and other states.

In September, South housing starts were 714,000, up 6.1 percent (plus or minus 15.5 percent) from 673,000 in August and 11.0 percent (plus or minus 20.4 percent) from 643,000 a year earlier. Neither change is significant. Single-family starts in the South were 506,000, down 3.3 percent from August and up 8.8 percent from a year earlier, again within the margins of error.

South completions were the clear signal. They fell to 604,000, down 21.3 percent (plus or minus 12.7 percent) from 767,000 in September 2025, and single-family completions fell 15.1 percent (plus or minus 14.2 percent) to 472,000. Both declines are statistically significant. South permits were 759,000, up 1.5 percent from August and down 1.8 percent from a year earlier, and single-family permits were 505,000, down 4.4 percent from August.

What does this mean for Florida buyers?

Fewer new homes reaching completion means less fresh supply competing with resale listings. In Florida, resale supply has already tightened. Florida Realtors reported on October 16 that active single-family listings fell 9.8 percent from a year earlier in September and months of supply dropped to 4.4 from 5.1, while the median price held at $415,000. Our Florida housing market September report has the statewide detail.

Demand has softened at the same time. Freddie Mac's 30-year fixed-rate average was 7.32 percent in the week ending October 22, and NAR reported that pending home sales in the South fell 8.2 percent in September. Builders typically respond to slower sales with incentives and rate buydowns on homes already finished. Our August construction article covers the prior month, and county-level permits are tracked on the Florida housing tracker. Local supply is on the Orlando, Tampa, Jacksonville and Miami market pages.

What comes next?

The Census Bureau publishes September new home sales on Tuesday, October 27, 2026, at 10 a.m., which shows how many newly built homes sold and how many remain for sale. October housing starts and permits follow in November.

People also ask

How many housing starts were there in September 2026?

Housing starts ran at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,221,000 in September 2026, compared with a revised 1,288,000 in August. Census said the change was not statistically significant.

Did building permits go up or down in September 2026?

Total permits were 1,400,000 at an annual rate, 0.2 percent below August and 3.0 percent below September 2025. Single-family permits fell 4.0 percent from August to 845,000.

Why are housing completions down?

Completions were 14.0 percent below a year earlier in September 2026. Homes finishing now were started months earlier, when starts were running below their 2022 peak.

Does the Census report show Florida housing starts?

No. The monthly report covers the nation and four regions. Florida is part of the South, where starts were 714,000 and completions fell 21.3 percent from a year earlier.

Limitations

New residential construction estimates come from sample surveys and are revised in later months; August figures were revised in this release. Most monthly changes in starts and completions fall within their 90 percent confidence intervals, and this article does not headline those changes. Permit estimates carry no published confidence interval. The report has no state detail, so the South figures include Texas, Georgia, the Carolinas and other states along with Florida. The chart's history comes from the Census series as published in the FRED database. Florida Realtors, Freddie Mac and NAR figures are cited for context with their own methods and periods.

Sources

U.S. Census Bureau and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, New Residential Construction, September 2026, release CB26-162, October 20, 2026, census.gov. Florida Realtors, September 2026 statewide housing data, released October 16, 2026. Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey, week ending October 22, 2026. National Association of Realtors, Pending Home Sales for September 2026, released October 20, 2026. Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, FRED series HOUST.

Disclosure: Jon Brooks is a co-founder of Momentum Realty, a Florida real estate brokerage that owns and funds Florida Housing Intelligence. Momentum has a financial interest in Florida real estate transactions, including in markets named here. See our editorial standards.