Mortgage Rates Only Modestly Higher Despite Bond Market Losses

Residential construction was mixed in August as housing starts recovered in the single-family sector, while building permits declined from July levels and completions fell sharply. The latest Census Bureau data points to continued unevenness in residential construction, with builders pulling back somewhat on new authorizations even as single-family construction picked up. Privately owned housing starts fell 2.6% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.275 million , down 1.2% from the August 2025 pace. Single-family starts, however, increased 7.6% to 918k , while starts for buildings containing five units or more fell to 344k . Building permits moved in the opposite direction, declining 2.7% from July to an annual rate of 1.394 million , though they remained 3.5% abov