Housing Starts last printed 1.24M on Tue, Aug 18, 2026 against a 1.35M consensus forecast and a 1.43M prior, a 0 sigma surprise. Published by US Census Bureau, captured live by Helious.
Housing is the most rate-sensitive sector in the economy, which makes starts a real-time read on how much Fed tightening is actually biting. Single-family starts are the signal; multifamily is lumpy and distorts the headline. Residential investment swings punch above their weight in GDP inflections.
A starts beat is mildly bearish Treasuries. The bigger use is confirmation: housing rolling over is one of the classic first dominoes in the cutting-cycle case. 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 | 1.24M | 1.35M | 1.43M | 0.00σ | BELOW FORECAST |
| Fri, Jul 17, 2026 | 1.43M | — | 1.18M | — | ABOVE PRIOR |
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 | 1,239K | 1,415K | -176K |
| 2026-06-01 | 1,415K | 1,182K | +233K |
| 2026-05-01 | 1,182K | 1,414K | -232K |
| 2026-04-01 | 1,414K | 1,522K | -108K |
| 2026-03-01 | 1,522K | 1,346K | +176K |
| 2026-02-01 | 1,346K | 1,385K | -39K |
| 2026-01-01 | 1,385K | 1,378K | +7K |
| 2025-12-01 | 1,378K | 1,319K | +59K |
| 2025-11-01 | 1,319K | 1,273K | +46K |
| 2025-10-01 | 1,273K | 1,319K | -46K |
| 2025-09-01 | 1,319K | 1,291K | +28K |
| 2025-08-01 | 1,291K | 1,432K | -141K |
| 2025-07-01 | 1,432K | 1,379K | +53K |
| 2025-06-01 | 1,379K | 1,289K | +90K |
| 2025-05-01 | 1,289K | 1,400K | -111K |
| 2025-04-01 | 1,400K | 1,346K | +54K |
| 2025-03-01 | 1,346K | 1,491K | -145K |
| 2025-02-01 | 1,491K | 1,353K | +138K |
| 2025-01-01 | 1,353K | 1,494K | -141K |
| 2024-12-01 | 1,494K | 1,300K | +194K |
| 2024-11-01 | 1,300K | 1,370K | -70K |
| 2024-10-01 | 1,370K | 1,357K | +13K |
| 2024-09-01 | 1,357K | 1,394K | -37K |
| 2024-08-01 | 1,394K | 1,269K | +125K |
| 2024-07-01 | 1,269K | 1,318K | -49K |
| 2024-06-01 | 1,318K | 1,329K | -11K |
| 2024-05-01 | 1,329K | 1,379K | -50K |
| 2024-04-01 | 1,379K | 1,297K | +82K |
| 2024-03-01 | 1,297K | 1,555K | -258K |
| 2024-02-01 | 1,555K | 1,378K | +177K |
| 2024-01-01 | 1,378K | 1,504K | -126K |
| 2023-12-01 | 1,504K | 1,522K | -18K |
| 2023-11-01 | 1,522K | 1,380K | +142K |
| 2023-10-01 | 1,380K | 1,369K | +11K |
| 2023-09-01 | 1,369K | 1,321K | +48K |
| 2023-08-01 | 1,321K | 1,464K | -143K |
Official published series (HOUST) 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 building permits at 8:30 AM ET · download the history (CSV), free to cite with a link to this page.
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