Eye On Housing
In the third quarter of 2015, the NAHB’s Multifamily Production Index (MPI) increased one point to a level of 56. This marks the 15th consecutive quarter with a reading of 50 or above, which indicates that more respondents report conditions are improving than report conditions are becoming worse. The MPI is fairly consistent with the strong performance of multifamily starts, which have recovered from… Read More ›
NAHB’s Multifamily Production Index (MPI) edged up one point to 55 in the second quarter, marking the 14th consecutive quarter that the index has been 50 or above. The MPI measures builder and developer sentiment on a scale of 0 to 100, where any number over 50 indicates that more respondents report conditions are improving than report conditions are getting… Read More ›
The Census Bureau’s preliminary estimate for starts in buildings with five or more apartments in March came in at a massive (seasonally adjusted annual) rate of 392,000 units. In the Census construction report, this shows up as a 27 percent increase over February. However, the number for February was itself revised upward by 24,000—so the five-plus starts rate for March… Read More ›
In the fourth quarter of 2012, NAHB’s Multifamily Production Index (MPI) increased two points to 54, marking the fourth straight quarter the index has been over the key break-even point of 50. The MPI is an overall measure of builder and developer sentiment on current conditions in the apartment and condominium market. The MPI is built from three components, capturing… Read More ›
The Census Bureau’s preliminary estimate of starts in buildings with five or more apartments for January came in at 260,000 (at a seasonally adjusted annual rate). As predicted in last month’s post, a rate well in excess of 300,000 proved too high to sustain. In fact, the five-plus starts rate for December was revised upward, from 330,000 to 352,000—so the preliminary… Read More ›
In December, the (seasonally adjusted) annual rate of starts in buildings with five or more apartments increased by 23 percent from the revised figure for November, to 330,000. The November figure was revised down substantially, but the big news is that the rate of multifamily production continues to climb, even after the large improvements it made in September and October of 2012—to the point where,… Read More ›
In November, the (seasonally adjusted) annual rate of starts in buildings with five or more apartments was 285,000, according to the latest release from the Census Bureau’s Manufacturing and Construction Division. In the release this shows up as a 4,000 increase from October, but the five-plus starts rate for October was revised downward by 4,000; so the preliminary rate for November… Read More ›
The Multifamily Production Index (MPI), released by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), remained fairly steady in the third quarter of 2012 at 52—the third straight quarter the index has been over 50. The MPI measures builder and developer sentiment about conditions for apartment and condominium construction, and is are scaled so that any number over 50 means more… Read More ›
In October, the previous month’s upward trend in multifamily production continued, as starts in buildings with five or more apartments came in at a (seasonally adjusted annual) rate of 285,000. Although the line isn’t completely solid, buildings with at least five apartments are generally a reasonable way to draw a distinction between smaller “mom and pop” operations and the province… Read More ›
In September, the (seasonally adjusted) annual rate of starts in buildings with five or more apartments was 260,000, according to the latest release from the Census Bureau’s Manufacturing and Construction Division. This is up 25 percent from August, and the highest the five-plus starts rate has been since September of 2008. To illustrate how far the market has come from the… Read More ›