Building Permits last printed 1.44M on Tue, Aug 18, 2026 against a 1.37M consensus forecast and a 1.37M prior, a 0 sigma surprise. Published by US Census Bureau, captured live by Helious.
Permits lead starts by one to two months, making them the forward-looking half of the residential construction report. They're a component of the leading economic indicators for a reason: builders pull permits based on where they think demand and rates are heading. Watch single-family permits as the clean trend line.
Higher permits are mildly bearish Treasuries as a leading growth signal. Standalone market impact is small; the trend matters more than any single print. See it scored live on the Helious desk, or read how the σ surprise is computed.
| DATE | ACTUAL | FORECAST | PRIOR | SURPRISE | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tue, Aug 18, 2026 | 1.44M | 1.37M | 1.37M | 0.00σ | ABOVE FORECAST |
| Fri, Jul 17, 2026 | 1.37M | — | 1.41M | — | ON THE SCREWS |
History accumulates from the desk's live capture (began July 2026). Every row links the print page published the moment the number landed.
| PERIOD | VALUE (K UNITS SAAR) | PRIOR | CHANGE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-07-01 | 1,443K | 1,374K | +69K |
| 2026-06-01 | 1,374K | 1,410K | -36K |
| 2026-05-01 | 1,410K | 1,423K | -13K |
| 2026-04-01 | 1,423K | 1,363K | +60K |
| 2026-03-01 | 1,363K | 1,540K | -177K |
| 2026-02-01 | 1,540K | 1,393K | +147K |
| 2026-01-01 | 1,393K | 1,482K | -89K |
| 2025-12-01 | 1,482K | 1,414K | +68K |
| 2025-11-01 | 1,414K | 1,418K | -4K |
| 2025-10-01 | 1,418K | 1,444K | -26K |
| 2025-09-01 | 1,444K | 1,347K | +97K |
| 2025-08-01 | 1,347K | 1,400K | -53K |
| 2025-07-01 | 1,400K | 1,399K | +1K |
| 2025-06-01 | 1,399K | 1,416K | -17K |
| 2025-05-01 | 1,416K | 1,445K | -29K |
| 2025-04-01 | 1,445K | 1,492K | -47K |
| 2025-03-01 | 1,492K | 1,446K | +46K |
| 2025-02-01 | 1,446K | 1,463K | -17K |
| 2025-01-01 | 1,463K | 1,467K | -4K |
| 2024-12-01 | 1,467K | 1,512K | -45K |
| 2024-11-01 | 1,512K | 1,435K | +77K |
| 2024-10-01 | 1,435K | 1,421K | +14K |
| 2024-09-01 | 1,421K | 1,492K | -71K |
| 2024-08-01 | 1,492K | 1,448K | +44K |
| 2024-07-01 | 1,448K | 1,459K | -11K |
| 2024-06-01 | 1,459K | 1,405K | +54K |
| 2024-05-01 | 1,405K | 1,456K | -51K |
| 2024-04-01 | 1,456K | 1,477K | -21K |
| 2024-03-01 | 1,477K | 1,570K | -93K |
| 2024-02-01 | 1,570K | 1,548K | +22K |
| 2024-01-01 | 1,548K | 1,501K | +47K |
| 2023-12-01 | 1,501K | 1,513K | -12K |
| 2023-11-01 | 1,513K | 1,524K | -11K |
| 2023-10-01 | 1,524K | 1,530K | -6K |
| 2023-09-01 | 1,530K | 1,596K | -66K |
| 2023-08-01 | 1,596K | 1,530K | +66K |
Official published series (PERMIT) via FRED, US Census Bureau data. Desk-captured prints above include the consensus forecast and σ surprise the moment each number landed.
Primary source: US Census Bureau · released monthly, ~mid-month, jointly with housing starts at 8:30 AM ET · download the history (CSV), free to cite with a link to this page.
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