The Census Bureau estimates that 255,600 multifamily housing units were completed in 2014 in buildings with at least five or more units, representing a 37.3% increase over the previous year and the highest total in those multi-unit structures since 2009.
And now an analysis of Census data by the National Association of Home Builders finds that, over the past five years, the number of completions in buildings with 50 or more units has continued to climb to where it hit 48% of total completions last year.
NAHB economist Robert Dietz notes that this trend toward larger multifamily buildings has been evident since 1996 (see chart below), after reaching a data series low of 8% in 1994 and 1995, and retrenching in 2009 and 2010 as a result of the housing recession.
Dietz also observes that completions in buildings with 20 or more units have been “well above” 50% since 2001, and accounted for 83% of the total last year.
Conversely, multifamily completions in units with nine or fewer units accounted for a relatively insignificant share of total construction last year. This would suggest that Census might need to rethink how it publicly reports its housing data, which to this point only show starts and completions for buildings with “five or more” units.
It’s worth noting, however, that multifamily construction activity in general appears to be peaking. For August, Census’s preliminary estimate for annualized completions in structures with five units or more stood at 283,000, up 0.4% from August 2014. And multifamily starts were actually down by 2.3% to 381,000.
Related Stories
Multifamily Housing | Dec 16, 2020
What the Biden Administration means for multifamily construction
What can the multifamily real estate sector expect from Biden and Company? At the risk of having egg, if not a whole omelet, on my face, let me take a shot.
Giants 400 | Dec 16, 2020
Download a PDF of all 2020 Giants 400 Rankings
This 70-page PDF features AEC firm rankings across 51 building sectors, disciplines, and specialty services.
Multifamily Housing | Dec 4, 2020
The Weekly show: Designing multifamily housing for COVID-19, and trends in historic preservation and adaptive reuse
This week on The Weekly show, BD+C editors spoke with leaders from Page & Turnbull and Grimm + Parker Architects about designing multifamily housing for COVID-19, and trends in historic preservation and adaptive reuse
Giants 400 | Dec 2, 2020
2020 Multifamily Sector Giants: Top architecture, engineering, and construction firms in the U.S. multifamily building sector
Clark Group, Humphreys & Partners Architects, and Kimley-Horn head BD+C's rankings of the nation's largest multifamily building sector architecture, engineering, and construction firms, as reported in the 2020 Giants 400 Report.
Smart Buildings | Nov 20, 2020
The Weekly show: SPIRE smart building rating system, and pickleball court design tips
The November 19 episode of BD+C's The Weekly is available for viewing on demand.
AEC Tech | Nov 12, 2020
The Weekly show: Nvidia's Omniverse, AI for construction scheduling, COVID-19 signage
BD+C editors speak with experts from ALICE Technologies, Build Group, Hastings Architecture, Nvidia, and Woods Bagot on the November 12 episode of "The Weekly." The episode is available for viewing on demand.
Multifamily Housing | Nov 11, 2020
San Jose affordable housing project will feature a mass timber frame
SERA Architects and Lendlease will design and build the project.
Multifamily Housing | Oct 30, 2020
The Weekly show: Multifamily security tips, the state of construction industry research, and AGC's market update
BD+C editors speak with experts from AGC, Charles Pankow Foundation, and Silva Consultants on the October 29 episode of "The Weekly." The episode is available for viewing on demand.
Multifamily Housing | Oct 29, 2020
Uncertainty shades a once-soaring multifamily construction market
Demand varies by region, and by perceptions about the economy, COVID-19, and the election.