# US Housing Starts Decline to Lowest Level Since Early 2021

Published 2022-08-16 · Updated 2026-03-26 · Engineering & Construction on MarketScale
Canonical: https://www.marketscale.com/industries/engineering-and-construction/us-housing-starts-decline-to-lowest-level-since-early-2021

> (Bloomberg) — New US home construction fell in July by more than forecast to the slowest pace since early last year as builders adjusted to a pullback in demand and a pickup in inventory. Residential starts dropped 9.6% last month to a 1.45 million annualized rate from a revised 1.6 million pace in June, according…

([Bloomberg](http://www.bloomberg.com)) — New US home construction fell in July by more than forecast to the slowest pace since early last year as builders adjusted to a pullback in demand and a pickup in inventory.

Residential starts dropped 9.6% last month to a 1.45 million annualized rate from a revised 1.6 million pace in June, according to government data released Tuesday. The median forecast called for a 1.53 million pace.

Applications to build, a proxy for future construction, declined 1.3% to 1.67 million.

Starts of one-family homes were the weakest in more than two years, the report showed. After a pandemic-related housing boom forced builders to scramble to build enough homes to satisfy demand, high mortgage rates, elevated inflation and a deteriorating economic picture are now tempering sales. That’s left builders with a sizable number of unsold properties.

The outlook continues to deteriorate. A report Monday showed homebuilder sentiment slid for an eighth-straight month in August, marking the worst stretch since 2007.

While [Home Depot Inc.](https://www.homedepot.com/) on Wednesday reported better-than-expected second-quarter earnings, the home-improvement retailer also said that customer transactions continued to fall. Home Depot said transactions dropped 3% from a year ago.

Prices for commodities like lumber have eased in recent months, though builders continue to struggle to fill open positions, especially more skilled roles. Two-thirds of construction firms reported few or no qualified applicants in a July survey of small businesses.

The government’s report showed single-family housing starts decreased 10.1% to an annualized 916,000 rate, the slowest since June 2020. Permits for one-family dwellings dropped 4.3% to a two-year low. Meanwhile, construction of multifamily dwellings fell to 530,000 in July.

Existing-home sales for July will be released Thursday, followed by new-home purchase data next week.

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©2022 Bloomberg L.P.

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