US October housing starts 1.246m vs 1.325m expected

• Prior 1.307m
• Building permits 1.412m vs 1.350m expected
• Prior 1.330m

This is still old data as government shutdown in October delayed many key economic reports. The last report was in September where it showed housing starts falling to the lowest level since May 2025.

There’s been persistent housing market weakness due to high mortgage rates and softening labor market. Trump said in a Truth Social post today that he has ordered $200 bn in MBS purchases to lower mortgage rates.

Trump said that large-scale MBS buying would narrow mortgage spreads, push borrowing costs lower, and reduce monthly mortgage payments. He described the move as part of a broader strategy to reverse what he characterised as damage inflicted on housing affordability over the past several years.

This article was written by Giuseppe Dellamotta at investinglive.com.