NMHC: Multifamily Construction Levels May Have Begun Stabilizing

Multifamily starts were relatively unchanged compared to three months ago, according to the National Multifamily Housing Council’s December 2025 NMHC Quarterly Survey of Apartment Construction & Development Activity. Twenty-five percent of respondents reported that their companies started fewer projects than three months ago, 26% said they started a greater number of projects and 43% reported that starts were at the same level as three months ago.

CoStar data show that multifamily starts have been on a downward trajectory since early 2022, although Yardi Matrix cites a continuing supply/demand imbalance as a factor in negative rent growth nationally. NMHC said the results of its latest survey suggest that multifamily construction levels may have finally started to stabilize.

“Starts have pulled back drastically over the past two years amid high interest rates and slowing rent growth,” said NMHC chief economist Chris Bruen. “Yet builders and developers are currently reporting lower costs for construction materials and labor and have expressed optimism about their long-term prospects.”

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NMHC's Bruen

About Paul Bubny

Paul Bubny serves as Senior Content Director for Connect Commercial Real Estate, a role to which he brings 16-plus years’ experience covering the commercial real estate industry and 30-plus years in business-to-business journalism. In this capacity, he oversees daily operations while also reporting on both local/regional markets and national trends, covering individual transactions across all property types, as well as delving into broader subject matter. He produces 7-10 daily news stories per day and works with the Connect team and clients to develop longer-form content, ranging from Q&As to thought-leadership pieces. Prior to joining Connect, Paul was Managing Editor for both Real Estate Forum and GlobeSt.com at American Lawyer Media, where he oversaw operations at both publications while also producing daily news and feature-length articles. His tenure in B2B publishing stretches back into the print era, and he has served as Editor in Chief on four national trade publications. Since 1999, Paul has volunteered as the newsletter editor of passenger rail advocacy groups (one national, one local).

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