Housing Starts Report July 2026: What to Watch
Comes out: Friday, July 24, 2026 at 8:30 a.m. ET
Published by: U.S. Census Bureau
On Friday, July 24, 2026 at 8:30 a.m. Eastern time, the government puts out a report on new home building. It is called New Residential Construction, and most people just call it "housing starts."
A housing start is one new home that builders just began working on. The report counts how many were started across the country.
This sounds far away from your life. It is not. What builders start now is the supply of homes for sale next year. That shapes prices, rent, and how hard it is to find a place. This page explains what to look for before the number lands.
What this report actually measures
The report counts new homes that builders just began building. Think of a start as the day the crew breaks ground on a house or an apartment building.
More starts mean more homes coming down the road. Fewer starts mean fewer homes later. Building a home takes many months, so today's work becomes next year's supply.
The number is shown as an annual rate. That just means: if builders kept up this same pace for a full year, this is how many homes they would start. It is a way to compare one month to another in a fair way.
What the charts show right now
The chart above shows the national number for June 2026 at 1,427K. That is shorthand for about 1,427,000 homes at that yearly pace.
That is up from 1,199K the month before. It is also up from 1,379K a year ago. So building has been running a little stronger, both month to month and compared with last year.
The South Florida chart shows a different story close to home. It tracks what sellers are asking for their homes in our three counties in June 2026. The typical asking price is $592,450 in Miami-Dade, $381,950 in Broward, and $496,200 in Palm Beach. All three are down from a year ago.
What it means for your mortgage payment
This report does not set mortgage rates by itself. But it feeds the bigger picture of how much housing is out there. When lots of homes get built, it can ease price pressure over time. When building slows, supply stays tight and prices tend to hold up.
Rates matter a lot to your monthly cost. On a $600,000 home loan, even a small move in the rate can change your payment by a meaningful amount each month. So it pays to watch the trend, not just one report.
What it means for home prices
Prices come down to supply and demand. If builders keep starting lots of homes, buyers get more choices over the next year. More choices can cool prices.
If starts fall off, fewer new homes show up later. That keeps supply tight. Tight supply tends to keep prices firm, even when fewer people are buying.
What it means for rent in South Florida
Many new starts are apartment buildings, not just houses. More new units mean more places to rent later. That can slow how fast rents climb.
If building slows, fewer new rentals open up down the road. That can keep rents higher. If you rent out a place, weak building today can support your rent a year from now. If you are renting, more building is the thing that helps you most.
Why one month is not the whole story
One month can jump around for reasons that have nothing to do with the real trend. Weather, permits, and timing all move the number. Look at the direction over several months, which the chart above helps you see.
Three things to watch
What sellers are asking in our three counties
| County | Now | A year ago | Direction |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miami-Dade | $592,450 | $609,000 | down |
| Broward | $381,950 | $400,000 | down |
| Palm Beach | $496,200 | $499,000 | down |
County figures from FRED, latest month published: June 2026.
Questions people ask
What are housing starts?
A housing start is one new home that builders just began working on. The report counts how many were started across the country in a month. It is an early sign of how much new housing is on the way.
When does the housing starts report come out?
It comes out Friday, July 24, 2026 at 8:30 a.m. Eastern time. The U.S. Census Bureau puts it out. New numbers come out about once a month.
Does this report change my mortgage rate?
Not on its own. It is one piece of the housing picture that lenders and markets watch. Your rate depends on many things, so watch the overall trend rather than a single report.
Why should a South Florida buyer or seller care?
Homes started now become homes for sale next year. More building can add choices and cool prices later. Less building keeps supply tight, which tends to hold prices up.
What are asking prices doing in South Florida right now?
As of June 2026, the typical asking price is $592,450 in Miami-Dade, $381,950 in Broward, and $496,200 in Palm Beach. All three are down from a year ago. You can see the current figures in the chart above.
Every figure on this page comes straight from FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis) — series HOUST. We publish these before the report lands so you can read the background while it is still quiet, then we add the actual number here the moment it is out.
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