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NMHC: Fewer Construction Delays but Also Fewer Starts
Results from the National Multifamily Housing Council’s latest Quarterly Survey of Apartment Construction & Development Activity reflect a multifamily construction market showing signs of improvement in certain areas and continued challenges and uncertainty in others. While construction delays occur less frequently compared to the 2022-2024 period, economic uncertainty persists.
“The prevalence of construction delays appears to be on the decline, but private data providers are also showing fewer multifamily starts to begin with compared to last year,” said Chris Bruen, NMHC’s chief economist and senior director of research. “The primary cause of decreasing starts and construction delays is one and the same—the combination of low rent growth, persistently high interest rates and rising operating costs are making projects increasingly difficult to pencil.”
A bright spot is the short-term outlook. A market conditions index value of 51— just above the breakeven level of 50—reflects expectations that overall market conditions will improve over the next three months, although NMHC noted significant disagreement among respondents.
