US building permits fell 4.7% month-on-month in January 2026, reaching a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.386 million, the lowest since August 2025, though the decline was less severe than the initial 5.4% estimate. Multi-unit permits plunged 12.4% to 458,000, while single-family permits edged down 0.6% to 876,000. Regionally, permits fell sharply in the West (-13.8% to 312,000), Northeast (-8.4% to 153,000), and South (-2.9% to 695,000), but rose 7.6% in the Midwest to 226,000.