Housing starts in the United States rose by 5.2% from the previous month to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 1.428 million in July of 2025, the most in five months. The rise contrasted with market expectations of a drop to 1.29 million and extended the upwardly revised, 5.9% jump from June. Starts were carried by housing with five or more units for a second month (11.6% to 470 thousand), faster than starts of one unit (2.8% to 939 thousand). Among different regions of the country, starts were sharply higher in the Midwest (33.3% to 252 thousand) and the South (19.2% vs 833 thousand. These were enough to offset contractions in the West (-27.5% to 232,000) and the Northeast (-11.6% to 111 thousand).