US Housing Starts Surge 19% in June, Driven by Multifamily Construction

US housing starts rose sharply in June, reaching their highest level in three months as multifamily construction rebounded strongly, according to data released by the US Census Bureau.

Housing starts increased 19% from the previous month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.427 million units, exceeding economists’ expectations of 1.310 million. The increase followed a revised 15.4% gain in May, when residential construction remained near its lowest level in six years.

The June advance was driven primarily by the multifamily segment. Starts for buildings with multiple units surged 76.3% to an annualized rate of 513,000 units, recovering from a 41% decline recorded in May.

By contrast, single-family housing starts edged down 0.2% to 895,000 units, marking a third consecutive monthly decline. Elevated home prices and persistently high mortgage rates continued to weigh on demand for newly built single-family homes.

Construction activity increased across all four major US regions. Housing starts in the South rose 15.2% to 741,000 units, while the Midwest posted a 33.3% increase to 248,000 units, the highest level since 2024. The Northeast recorded a 10.3% gain to 129,000 units, and the West advanced 22.1% to 309,000 units.

The latest figures indicate that overall residential construction strengthened in June, although the recovery continued to be led by multifamily projects while single-family homebuilding remained under pressure from affordability challenges.