Builders Just Slowed Ground-Breakings to 918,000 as Sentiment Sank to 32

Builders pulled fewer families' homes out of the ground in August than in any month since the spring freeze, and the survey that measures how they feel about the next six months just posted its lowest reading in a year. Single-family housing starts fell to a 918,000 annualized pace in August, up just 0.9% from July's 909,000 print but down 30.3% from August 2025, according to Census Bureau and HUD data published September 17. Three days earlier, the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index fell three points to 32 in September, its weakest since September 2025. Those two numbers describe the same decision made twice: builders see traffic drying up at a 6.95% mortgage rate, and they are respondin…