Total housing starts in 2025 reached 1.36 million, a decrease of 0.6% from the previous year’s total of 1.37 million. Single-family housing starts fell to 943,000, marking a decline of 6.9% compared to the prior year, while multifamily starts rose by 17.4% over the same period.
Buddy Hughes, a home builder and developer from Lexington, North Carolina, commented on these trends: “Single-family home building dipped in 2025 because of ongoing affordability challenges, fueled by high housing price-to-income ratios and elevated financing and construction costs,” he said. “NAHB expects single-family starts will move slightly higher this year, as mortgage rates are expected to moderate.”
Jing Fu, senior director of forecasting and analysis at the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), addressed changes within the multifamily sector: “Multifamily construction was down in high-density markets but up in the low-rise sector,” Fu stated. “Multifamily starts are anticipated to fall 5% in 2026 to an annual pace of 392,000 units and decline an additional 6% in 2027 to a 367,000 rate, leveling off near pre-pandemic levels.”
Regionally for 2025, combined single-family and multifamily housing starts increased by 8.7% in the Northeast and by 7.2% in the Midwest. The South saw a decrease of 4%, while the West experienced a drop of 0.8%.
Building permits for new homes also declined during this period. Total permits issued were at 1.43 million for the year—a drop of 3.6% from the previous year’s total of 1.48 million permits—while single-family permits totaled just under one million at 909,600 units (down by approximately seven percent). Regionally, permit issuance fell by almost eight percent in the Northeast and just under two percent in the West; meanwhile it rose three percent in the Midwest but dropped more than five percent across southern states.
The National Association of Home Builders serves as a trade association supporting professionals throughout residential construction with advocacy efforts, educational opportunities and networking resources designed to foster business growth and encourage innovation within home building according to its official website. The organization maintains a nationwide network that provides tools for professional development and works alongside local associations to promote policies that improve affordability.
