According to the National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC), 70% of respondents in their Quarterly Survey of Apartment Construction & Development Activity reported experiencing construction delays in the past three months. This marks a decline from previous quarters, with only 77% reporting delays in permitting and 84% reporting delays in starts. However, NMHC notes that construction delays are still expected to be common.
Of those experiencing delays, 80% cited permitting as a major factor while starts saw a decrease for the second consecutive quarter. Additionally, there has been an increase (20%) in deals being repriced up compared to previous surveys.
Despite these challenges, rental housing providers remain confident about overall multifamily construction market conditions over the next three months with only 14% expecting conditions to decline and 5% expecting improvement. Looking further ahead into medium and long-term projections, more respondents expressed optimism for improvement.
NMHC President Sharon Wilson Géno stated that high costs and economic uncertainty continue to pose challenges for new community development but there is growing confidence that market conditions will improve over time.
