US building permits rose by 5% month-over-month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.443 million in July 2026, above market expectations of 1.37 million, preliminary figures showed. Permits for buildings with five or more units surged 9.1% to 490,000, and single-family permits increased 2.5% to 894,000. Regionally, permits rose in the Midwest (12.3% to 228,000), the South (6.6% to 755,000), and the West (0.3% to 309,000), but fell in the Northeast (-2.6% to 151,000).