Report: Puget Sound Multifamily Pipeline Undergoing Reset

The Puget Sound development pipeline is seeing a significant reset, with a meaningful number of developers formally shelving projects rather than continuing to extend timelines and hold entitlements while waiting for market conditions to improve. As a result, both the approved and in-review pipelines contracted over the past year.

According to a report by Kidder Mathews, across the region, an estimated 19,163 units are currently under construction, 12,931 are approved, and nearly 78,925 remain in review, representing a total pipeline of 111,019 units. The report attributes the contraction primarily to development economics, as elevated construction and capital costs continue to make new projects difficult to pencil, even in submarkets with strong long-term fundamentals.

The trend is particularly evident in the approved pipeline. In Seattle and suburban King County, developers increasingly opted to cancel permitted projects rather than carry entitlements indefinitely. Outside King County, construction activity increased across Snohomish, Pierce, and Kitsap counties, while the inventory of approved projects declined sharply as projects either moved into construction or were canceled.