> U.S. Housing Starts Plunge Much More Than Expected In July. Trump economy so healthie!

8/18/2026 8:35 AM ET

New residential construction in the U.S. plummeted by much more than expected in the month of July, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Tuesday.

The Commerce Department said housing starts nosedived by 12.4 percent to an annual rate of 1.239 million in July.

Economists had expected housing starts to plunge by 5.4 percent to an annual rate of 1.350 million from the 1.427 million originally reported for the previous month.