SF Housing Starts

New Privately-Owned Housing Units Started - Single-Family Units

View on FRED · HOUST1F ↗

859k

yoy

▲ 2.63%

121 obs · monthly · thousands── 1y ago 837k

What it is

Isolates SFR pipeline from multi-family noise. The number that matters if you buy houses.

source: FRED
frequency: monthly
units: thousands
s.a.: yes

Note: SAAR.

What it’s telling us · as of 2026-09-01

SFR starts printed at 859k in September, up 2.6% from a year ago but noticeably softer than the spring pace—March hit 1.017M before the line rolled over through the summer. The slowdown isn't collapse, but it's the clearest signal yet that builder appetite for single-family ground is cooling off the 2025 high. If you're underwriting a deal with a new-construction comp in your rent-comp set, expect that supply pipeline to land later and smaller than a spring projection would've predicted—which actually tightens near-term resale rental comps and props up your entry yields a bit longer.

⟡ auto-generated weekly · claude-haiku-4-5 · reviewed before publish

Related metrics

Get the data

Python · fredapi

"""
SF Housing Starts — Isolates SFR pipeline from multi-family noise. The number that matters if you buy houses.
Freq: monthly · Source: FRED
"""
from fredapi import Fred

fred = Fred(api_key="YOUR_FRED_API_KEY")
series = fred.get_series("HOUST1F")
print(series.tail())

LLM prompt

You are analyzing FRED series HOUST1F — New Privately-Owned Housing Units Started - Single-Family Units.

Context: Isolates SFR pipeline from multi-family noise. The number that matters if you buy houses.

Attributes
- Units: thousands
- Frequency: monthly
- Source: FRED

Latest observation: 859k as of 2026-09-01
Year-over-year change: +2.63%

Analyze this metric for a tech-forward real estate investor with 1–3 properties. What is it signaling right now? What should I watch next?