Housing · HOUST5F

Apartment starts (5+ units)

As of Sep 2026, the apartment starts (5+ units) stood at 349K (thousands of units), a change of -7.2% from the month before.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development via FRED®. Monthly data, seasonally adjusted. Latest observation Sep 2026; snapshot taken Oct 27, 2026, 2:15 AM EDT.

Latest (Sep 2026)

349K

Change from Aug 2026

-7.2%

A year earlier

471K

12-month change

-25.9%

349K Sep 2026 · Thousands of units

200K300K400K500K600K20222023202420252026

Thousands of units. Data from Jan 1959 to Sep 2026 (813 observations).

What it measures

This counts starts of buildings with five or more housing units, mostly apartment buildings, at an annual rate. It swings more than single-family starts.

Official title
New Privately-Owned Housing Units Started: Units in Buildings with 5 Units or More
Units
Thousands of units
Frequency and adjustment
Monthly, seasonally adjusted
Original source
U.S. Census Bureau and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
Recent values
DateValueChange
Sep 2026349K-7.2%
Aug 2026376K-22.3%
Jul 2026484K-6.7%
Jun 2026519K+84.0%
May 2026282K-42.9%
Apr 2026494K+2.7%
Mar 2026481K+16.2%
Feb 2026414K-11.7%
Jan 2026469K+14.4%
Dec 2025410K+9.3%
Nov 2025375K+5.6%
Oct 2025355K-24.6%

Related indicators

Housing starts

1,221K

Thousands of units, annual rate · Sep 2026

Single-family housing starts

859K

Thousands of units · Sep 2026

Rental vacancy rate

7.3%

Percent · Q2 2026

This page shows public economic data for general information. It is not financial advice and does not predict future values.

Sources

FRED® is a registered trademark of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Neither the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis nor U.S. Census Bureau and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development endorses OpenEcon.