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Report from
North America
Housing starts fall on pullback in apartment and condo
construction
Housing starts, a gauge of new residential construction,
fell 2.6% in August to 1.275 million. Economists polled
by The Wall Street Journal expected a reading of 1.3
million and for starts to rise 4.9% over the month.
Starts were down 1.2% in August from the same month of
2025. Within this overall number, single-family starts
increased 7.6% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of
918,000 units and were up 5.2% from August 2025. The
multifamily sector, which includes apartment buildings
and condos, decreased 21.7% to an annualised 357,000
pace and was down 14.6% from a year earlier.
Regionally, on a year-to-date basis, combined single-
family and multifamily starts were 10% higher in the
Northeast, 0.4% lower in the Midwest, 2.4% lower in the
South, and 3% lower in the West.
Housing completions also continued to soften. Single-
family completions fell to an annual rate of 816,000 units,
down 22.9% from a year earlier. Multifamily completions
for buildings with five or more units declined 35.7% year
over year to a 302,000-unit pace.
The National Association of Home Builders reported
builder sentiment fell to its lowest level in a year,
suggesting further weakness could be ahead in
September’s housing starts.“The big picture remains that
elevated and rising borrowing costs are holding developers
back, supporting our view that the downward trend in
housing starts has further to run,” a note from Capital
Economics says.
In Canada, housing starts edged lower in August. The
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation reported that
the seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts came
in at 229,046 units for August, down from 229,360 in July.
CMHC deputy chief economist Kevin Hughes says
housing starts continued to trend slightly down in August,
as modest gains in Quebec and Alberta only partially
offset the decline in other provinces, most notably,
Ontario.
See: https://www.census.gov/construction/nrc/current/index.html
and
https://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/professionals/housing-markets-
data-and-research/housing-data/data-tables/housing-market-
data/monthly-housing-starts-construction-data-tables
and
https://eyeonhousing.org/2026/09/single-family-starts-rebound-
but-market-challenges-persist/
Home sales fell in August despite the highest supply in
over a decade
US homebuyers continue to struggle amid higher
mortgage rates and lofty home prices. Sales of previously
owned homes fell 2% in August from July to 3.98 million
units on a seasonally adjusted annualized basis, according
to the National Association of Realtors. The sales activity
marked the slowest pace since June 2025 and was felt
hardest in the Northeast and Midwest. Sales were down
1.2% year over year.
"Mortgage rates and home sales move in opposite
directions, so it's not surprising to see a mild dip in home
buying activity due to high mortgage rates," said
Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist. "Still, home prices
are rising, and existing home sales are actually up 1.6%
year-to-date through the first eight months of the year."
Housing supply totaled 1.62 million homes for sale at the
end of August, up 3.2% from July and up 5.9% from the
year before. At the current sales pace, that represents a
4.9-month supply — the highest level in more than a
decade, according to NAR.
Regionally, the Northeast saw a 4.0% decrease in sales
month-over-month to an annual rate of 480,000—down
2.0% from August 2025. There was a 3.1% decrease in
month-over-month sales in the Midwest to an annual rate
of 940,000, which was 2.1% less than last August.
In the South, month-over-month sales fell 1.6% to an
annual rate of 1.84 million, which was unchanged versus
August 2025. Sales were unchanged month-over-month in
the West at an annual rate of 720,000, but down 2.7% year
over year.
See: https://www.nar.realtor/newsroom/nar-existing-home-sales-
report-shows-2-0-decrease-in-august
Strong job growth in August
The US economy added a surprising 162,000 jobs in
August, the US Department of Labor reported, even as
economists said a "low-hire, low-fire" dynamic made it
difficult for unemployed Americans to find work.
The 162,000 estimate for August far surpassed forecasters’
expectations and marked a rebound after US employers
added a now-revised 21,000 jobs in July. The department
previously estimated US employers shed 23,000 jobs in
July. Payroll gains for June were also revised higher,
reflecting a stronger summer job market than previously
thought. The unemployment rate stayed put at 4.1% in
August after falling in June and July when hundreds of
thousands of Americans stopped looking for work.
“There are always areas of concern in the labor market.
For example, among recent graduates,” Federal Reserve
Chair Kevin Warsh said. “In general, though, people who
want to work, by and large, are holding or finding jobs.
They may well be concerned about future labour
disruptions, but as of now, I believe the labor markets are
broadly consistent with full employment.” Job growth
occurred in both manufacturing and construction in
August. The construction sector added 22,000 roles and
the manufacturing industry gained 16,000 jobs.
See: https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/empsit.pdf
US consumer sentiment slides on inflation fears
More consumers are feeling negative about the US
economy. The preliminary September reading for the
University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index came
in at 47.8. This marks a 7.5% (3.9 points) decrease from
August. Consumer sentiment sits 13.2% below where it
was a year ago.
“Democrats and Republicans alike posted sizable declines,
while independents were little changed from August,”
noted Joanne HSU, the survey’s director. “With a
resurgence in fuel prices and trade tensions, consumers
anticipate greater pressures on their pocketbooks to come.
Year-ahead expectations for both personal finances and
business conditions plunged.”
However, economists on Wall Street, where the economy
is humming along, have offered a different take on such
low confidence. Goldman Sachs economist Joseph Briggs
told clients that the downward pressure may stem from
broader pessimism in society. Briggs pointed to data from
the University of Chicago's General Social Survey
illustrating how happiness never fully recovered from a
drop during the pandemic.
To be sure, Briggs said inflationary pressures are likely
also hurting confidence. But he said "lower happiness" at
large can partially explain the continued disconnect
between sentiment and other measures of the economy's
performance, such as gross domestic product growth or
stock market performance, that offer rosier views.
See: https://www.sca.isr.umich.edu/
US manufacturing growth slowed in August
Economic activity in the manufacturing sector expanded in
August for the eighth consecutive month, say the nation’s
supply executives in the latest ISM Manufacturing PMI
Report. The Manufacturing PMI registered 54.6 percent in
August, down one percentage point from July. A reading
above 50 percent indicates expansion in the manufacturing
sector.
“In August, US manufacturing activity remained in
expansion territory, though it has lost ground in a number
of key measures—namely, the New Orders, Backlog and
Imports indexes,” said Susan Spence, chair of the ISM
survey committee. “In August, 42% of the comments
were positive and 58% negative. Pricing volatility was
mentioned in 57% of negative comments, the Iran war
30%, increasing lead times 46% and tariffs 29%.”
The Furniture & Related Products industry was among the
15 of 18 manufacturing industries surveyed by ISM that
reported growth in August. The Wood Products industry
reported contraction in August.
See: https://www.ismworld.org/supply-management-news-and-
reports/reports/ism-pmi-reports/pmi/august/
US building material suppliers call for trade stability
The National Lumber and Building Material Dealers
Association (NLBMDA) is urging congressional leaders
and the Administration to address growing cost and supply
pressures stemming from recently implemented Section
338 tariffs on Canadian building materials.
In a 14 September letter to House and Senate leadership,
NLBMDA urged Congress and the Administration to
provide targeted relief for essential building materials
where domestic production is insufficient to meet US
demand. NLBMDA also called for greater stability and
predictability in the US-Canada trade relationship, citing
the highly integrated nature of the North American
building materials supply chain.
NLBMDA’s outreach to Congress is informed by recent
feedback from members on the effects of the new tariffs.
In a recent member survey, 80% of respondents reported
sourcing or availability impacts, while nearly 87%
reported higher supplier prices. Dealers also cited reduced
shipments from Canadian suppliers, longer lead times and
difficulty identifying domestic alternatives that can readily
meet demand.
The Administration’s action under Section 338 of the
Tariff Act of 1930 imposes a 50 percent additional duty on
a range of Canadian imports, including certain plywood
and laminated wood products, medium-density fiberboard,
particleboard, wood doors and other materials used
throughout residential and commercial construction.
NLBMDA represents over 6,000 member locations
operating single or multiple lumber yards and component
plants serving homebuilders, subcontractors, general
contractors, and consumers in the new construction, repair
and remodeling of residential and light commercial
structures.
See:
https://www.woodworkingnetwork.com/news/woodworking-
industry-news/nlbmda-calls-trade-stability
Data centre projects bolster US construction industry
Associated Builders and Contractors reported that its
Construction Backlog Indicator rebounded to 8.5 months
in August, according to an ABC member survey
conducted 20 August to 4 September. The reading is up
0.5 months from July and unchanged on a year-ago basis.
This survey also reported that 1 in 6 ABC members are
working on data center projects.
“Backlog rebounded from July’s cyclical low but remains
below the prevailing level from the last several months,”
said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “Data centers
continue to keep contractors busy even as activity softens
in other segments.
Although the backlog gap between contractors with and
without data center work narrowed in August (9.9 vs. 8.3
months, respectively), that appears to reflect more
contractors securing work in the data center segment
rather than a broader structural trend. Roughly 1 in 6 ABC
members is currently under contract to work on a data
center, the highest proportion on record.”
See: https://www.enr.com/articles/63658-data-centers-lift-
contractor-backlog-as-labor-pressures-reemerge
and
https://www.woodworkingnetwork.com/news/woodworking-
industry-news/1-6-projects-are-data-centers-construction-
backlog-survey-finds
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