West housing construction report: September 2026 https://www.observedwork.com/resources/west-housing-construction-september-2026 Published: 2026-10-22 Source review: 2026-10-22 West housing permits and starts declined in September’s Census estimates. Compare the figures, sampling uncertainty and revisions to August before using them in a territory review. Archive edition · September 2026 survey month · October 20, 2026 release (CB26-162) · Retrieved and checked October 22, 2026. September is preliminary; August is revised. All comparisons use this release’s vintage. The August report retains the earlier September 17 vintage. The regional comparison The West’s September permit rate was 283,000 housing units, 10.2% below revised August and 11.3% below September 2025. Total starts were estimated at 235,000, down 23.2% from revised August and 25.4% from a year earlier. Values below are thousands of housing units at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR), not monthly permit documents or project counts. Census calculates percentage changes from unrounded estimates. Single-family permits were unchanged from revised August at the published precision. Measure (thousands, SAAR) | Sep 2025 | Aug 2026 (r) | Sep 2026 (p) | Month change | Year change Permits, total | 319 | 315 | 283 | -10.2% | -11.3% Permits, single-family | 184 | 170 | 170 | 0.0% | -7.6% Starts, total | 315 | 306 | 235 | -23.2% | -25.4% Starts, single-family | 202 | 191 | 184 | -3.7% | -8.9% Census/HUD September 2026 release, October 20 vintage (PDF), tables 1a and 3a: https://www.census.gov/construction/nrc/pdf/newresconst_202609.pdf What the uncertainty allows us to say The total-starts month change of −23.2% has a 90% confidence interval of ±22.9 percentage points: −46.1% to −0.3%. The year change of −25.4% ±14.3 points spans −39.7% to −11.1%. Both intervals exclude zero, supporting a decrease at Census’s 90% confidence level in this release. Single-family starts are different: −3.7% ±21.3 points month to month (−25.0% to +17.6%) and −8.9% ±20.0 points year to year (−28.9% to +11.1%). Both include zero, so neither establishes a direction of change. These intervals cover sampling variability, not every possible source of error. Permit estimates have nonsampling error; do not apply the starts intervals to permits. A statistically significant regional monthly change still does not establish a sustained trend, a local contractor’s workload or future material orders. Preliminary estimates can be revised. Census/HUD September 2026 release, October 20 vintage (PDF), tables 1a and 3a: https://www.census.gov/construction/nrc/pdf/newresconst_202609.pdf Reconcile August before comparing editions The earlier August report used the September 17 release. The October 20 release revises August’s West figures as shown below. September’s month comparisons use the revised August column, not the older August values. These are revisions to the same survey month, not new September activity. July’s overlapping West SAAR figures remain 308 total permits, 178 single-family permits, 244 total starts and 154 single-family starts in both reviewed releases. The prior dated report and its downloads remain intact. August measure (thousands, SAAR) | September 17 vintage | October 20 vintage | Revision Permits, total | 313 | 315 | +2 Permits, single-family | 169 | 170 | +1 Starts, total | 323 | 306 | -17 Starts, single-family | 198 | 191 | -7 Census/HUD September 2026 release, October 20 vintage (PDF), tables 1a and 3a: https://www.census.gov/construction/nrc/pdf/newresconst_202609.pdf Prior August report and original vintage: https://www.observedwork.com/resources/west-housing-construction-august-2026 September 17 source PDF: https://www.census.gov/construction/nrc/pdf/newresconst_202608.pdf Housing units, annual rates and regional coverage Permits describe new privately owned housing units authorized in permit-issuing places. Starts are a separate survey measure and generally begin with excavation for footings or foundations. They do not follow the same month’s permits through a project pipeline. An apartment building can represent many housing units. SAAR adjusts for estimated seasonal patterns and expresses the monthly pace as an annual rate. It is neither the number built so far this year nor a forecast. These measures do not cover all commercial construction, remodeling orders or contractor identities. The West includes Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming. No city, county or individual distributor territory is estimated here. Census Survey of Construction definitions: https://www.census.gov/construction/soc/definitions.html Census BPS coverage: https://www.census.gov/construction/bps/index.html Source vintage and next release We retrieved the October 20 PDF on October 22 and checked West columns in tables 1a and 3a, including preliminary/revised labels and the confidence-interval rows. The JSON records the source hash, retrieval time, values and revision ledger. The official calendar checked October 22 schedules September’s revised BPS release for October 27 and the next NRC release for November 18. October 27 data were not yet due at this check and are not included here. A later BPS review must retain its own vintage and explain any differences; it must not silently replace this October 20 edition. Change log: initial September report, October 22, 2026. If source access fails, retain this dated edition and mark the new review unresolved. No latest-data dashboard or live territory collection is established by this report. Official release calendar: https://www.census.gov/construction/bps/schedule.html Census historical release archive: https://www.census.gov/construction/nrc/data/releases.html Use the report in a supplier territory review Use the regional decline as context for questions about the counties you serve, product categories and customer segments. Gather local evidence before changing an account priority or inventory plan. An issued permit does not establish an open bid, an unawarded job or a purchase order. Business teams can request a source and coverage review for a specific geography and work category. ObservedWork must confirm access and scope; this regional archive does not establish ongoing local collection. Request a B2B territory coverage review: https://www.observedwork.com/contact?topic=coverage&workflow=monitoring&territory=Census%20West%20region%20%E2%80%94%20specify%20cities%20and%20trade Review worksheet [ ] Keep survey month, release vintage and retrieval time separate. Notes / evidence / actual check date: ____________________ [ ] Compare September with revised August from the same release. Notes / evidence / actual check date: ____________________ [ ] Read confidence intervals before inferring a direction or trend. Notes / evidence / actual check date: ____________________ [ ] Check local records before making a territory or purchasing decision. Notes / evidence / actual check date: ____________________ Responsible reviewer: ____________________ Unresolved questions: ____________________ Next review: ____________________ Census/HUD September 2026 release, October 20 vintage (PDF), tables 1a and 3a: https://www.census.gov/construction/nrc/pdf/newresconst_202609.pdf Census Survey of Construction definitions: https://www.census.gov/construction/soc/definitions.html Census BPS scope: https://www.census.gov/construction/bps/index.html Official release calendar: https://www.census.gov/construction/bps/schedule.html