📊 National Key Indicators — Latest Available Data
July Housing Permits
1.443M
▲ 5.0% MoM · ▲ 3.1% YoY
Permits up while starts fell: plan-review demand persists
July Housing Starts
1.239M
▼ 12.4% MoM · ▼ 13.5% YoY
Field workload lagging approved pipeline
Single-Family Starts
808K
▼ 9.9% MoM · ▼ 15.7% YoY
Spec builders cautious; incentives still heavy
5+ Unit Permits
490K
▲ 9.1% MoM · ▲ 6.3% YoY
Complex review mix replacing easy SF volume
Construction Spend
$2.158T
▼ 0.5% MoM · ▼ 3.8% YoY
July 2026 SAAR; H1/H2 spending still below 2025
Private Residential Spend
$859B
▼ 1.3% MoM · ▼ 7.3% YoY
Residential construction remains pressured
Builder Sentiment
35
▲ 1 pt MoM · below 40 for 16 months
NAHB HMI August; 35% cutting prices
AIA ABI
46.6
Below 50 = billings contracting
Commercial/industrial design still weak
Dodge Momentum Index
282.0
▼ 0.4% MoM · ▲ 4.2% YoY
Data-center planning cooled; public/institutional improved
Public Construction Spend
$543B
▼ 0.2% MoM · ▲ 1.7% YoY
Municipal/infrastructure work remains the anchor
Manufacturing Spend
$170B
▼ 1.0% MoM · ▼ 21.2% YoY
Factory boom has cooled hard
Data Center Vacancy
~1%
JLL midyear 2026
Still near zero despite massive construction
📈 Starts & Permits National Trends — July 2026
Housing Starts by Type — Apr–Jul 2026
Seasonally adjusted annual rate, thousands · Census/HUD
Regional Permits Change — July 2026
MoM % change and permit volume ÷10K · Census/HUD
🏗️ CAA State Residential Permits — July 2026
Total Permits by State — July 2026 vs. June 2026
FRED / Census state permit series, not seasonally adjusted units
🧱 Builder Sentiment & Leading Indicators
NAHB Housing Market Index — August 2026
3-month regional averages · 50 = neutral
35
National HMI
Neutral: 50
Construction Spending Snapshot — July 2026
MoM % change by category · Census Construction Spending
🗺️ CAA State Snapshots — July 2026
🐻 California
Total permits8,285 · -17.3% MoM · +11.0% YoY
SA total permits8,793 · +2.1% MoM
Single-family4,509 · -21.9% MoM · -2.7% YoY
Non-SF units3,776 · +33.5% YoY
12-mo total110,772 · +12.9%
LA MSA2,776 · +30.6% trailing-12
Workload signalMultifamily + TI + industrial re-tenanting
🍑 Georgia
Total permits5,473 · -5.4% MoM · -1.4% YoY
Single-family3,959 · -3.8% MoM · flat YoY
Non-SF units1,514 · -9.4% MoM
12-mo total60,146 · -2.8%
Atlanta MSA2,870 July permits
Industrial signalData-center boom + backlash
Workload signalOrdinance + utility/fire review support
🏔️ Colorado
Total permits2,740 · +15.4% MoM · +23.5% YoY
SA total permits3,031 · +22.0% MoM
Single-family1,572 · -7.3% MoM · +5.9% YoY
Non-SF units1,168 · +72.0% MoM
Denver MSA1,490 July permits
Code signalWUI code + data-center rules
Workload signalSenior review hours, not simple volume
🎰 Nevada
Total permits1,098 · -37.9% MoM · -11.5% YoY
Single-family715 · +0.8% MoM · -31.6% YoY
Non-SF units383 · -63.9% MoM
12-mo total15,176 · -14.7%
Las Vegas MSA740 July permits
Data centers74 planned/constructed statewide
Workload signalPolicy + power/water/fire conditions
⚠️ Market Risk Factors
The market is splitting: fewer easy permits, more hard ones
National starts fell 12.4% even as permits rose 5.0%. Nevada residential is weak; Georgia is normalizing; California and Colorado permit growth is being carried by denser/non-SF work. Data-center governance is now a municipal workload problem in Georgia, Nevada, Colorado, and increasingly everywhere else. Public construction remains the stabilizer.
🏛️ CAA Business Implications
| Theme | Data Point | Impact | CAA Implication |
|---|---|---|---|
| Permits up, starts down nationally | Permits +5.0% MoM; starts -12.4% MoM | High | Plan review stays busy while inspection volume becomes uneven; cities need flexible staffing, not layoffs. |
| Data-center regulation wave | NV tracker: 74 data centers planned/constructed; GA cities/counties adopting pauses and restrictions | High | Package data-center review matrices, utility/fire conditions, generator/fuel review, and inspection hold points. |
| Colorado WUI/code transition | WUI compliance now part of permit review in affected jurisdictions | High | Offer WUI plan-review overflow, reviewer training, and applicant checklist support. |
| California non-SF resilience | CA non-SF permits +33.5% YoY in July; trailing-12 non-SF +38.9% | Positive | Expect multifamily, adaptive reuse, TI, and industrial re-tenanting review demand. |
| Nevada residential slump | NV total permits -14.7% trailing-12; SF -22.5% | Medium | Do not chase tract-housing volume; chase complex industrial/public review support. |
| Public construction anchor | $543.4B SAAR, +1.7% YoY | Positive | Municipal engineering, inspection, and capital-project support remain durable demand. |