A surge in multifamily construction helped lift overall housing starts 19% in June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.43 million, according to a report from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau.

The data points to a shift in the U.S. home market: single-family home construction is slowing while multifamily construction is becoming a larger share of the sector. Single-family starts in June decreased 0.2% month over month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 895,000, which was down about 3.2% from June 2025 starts.

The June construction rate for buildings with five or more units was a seasonally adjusted 513,000, up from 430,000 a year earlier.

Advertisement

According to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), June multifamily starts, including apartment buildings and condominiums with fewer than five units, reached 532,000 — a 76% increase from May’s unusually low number.  

Building permits in June were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of about 1.37 million units, down 3% from May and 2.3% below the June 2025 rate. Permitted units in buildings with five or more apartments or condominiums were at an annual rate of 445,000, up from 430,000 one year ago. NAHB reports that the three-month moving average for multifamily construction starts reached 445,000 units through June, 17.2% above the same period last year.

In the first quarter, the number of units permitted for multifamily projects was up 7.1% nationally from a year earlier. The Northeast posted a 47% increase, the West rose 38% and the Midwest increased 2.2%. Only the South went the other direction, with a 13.3% drop in the number of permitted units.

At the same time, the number of permitted single-family homes in the first quarter fell 7.6% nationally from a year earlier. The Northeast recorded a 17.1% drop, the West fell 9.3% and the South declined 7.4%. The number of homes permitted in the Midwest remained unchanged in the first quarter.