Challenging affordability conditions continue to act as headwinds for the housing industry, but the sector could see lower interest rates in the near future with the Federal Reserve expected to cut short-term interest rates this afternoon. Overall housing starts decreased 8.5% in August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.31 million units, according to a…
The percentage of new apartment units that were absorbed within three months after completion rose in the second quarter, according to the Census Bureau’s latest release of the Survey of Market Absorption of New Multifamily Units (SOMA). The survey covers new units in multifamily residential buildings with five or more units. The number of new…
The missing middle construction sector includes development of medium-density housing, such as townhouses, duplexes and other small multifamily properties. The multifamily segment of the missing middle (apartments in 2- to 4-unit properties) has generally disappointed since the Great Recession. For the second quarter of 2025, there were 5,000 2- to 4-unit housing unit construction starts. This represents…
According to NAHB analysis of quarterly Census data, the count of multifamily, for-rent housing starts increased during the second quarter of 2025. For the quarter, 109,000 multifamily residences started construction. Of this total, 102,000 were built-for-rent. This built-for-rent total was 21% higher than the second quarter of 2024. The market share of rental units of…
Single-family housing starts posted a modest gain in July as builders continue to contend with challenging housing affordability conditions and a host of supply-side headwinds, including labor shortages, elevated construction costs and inefficient regulatory costs. Led by solid multifamily production, overall housing starts increased 5.2% in July to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.43…
Confidence in the market increased for multifamily developers in the second quarter of 2025, according to the Multifamily Market Survey (MMS) released today by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). The MMS produces two separate indices. The Multifamily Production Index (MPI) was up two points year-over-year to 46. The Multifamily Occupancy Index (MOI) had…
Single-family housing starts declined in June to the lowest rate since July 2024 as elevated interest rates, rising inventories and ongoing supply-side issues continue to act as headwinds for the housing sector. Due to a solid increase in multifamily production, overall housing starts increased 4.6% in June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.32…
