According to NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe, November multifamily housing starts (units in buildings with two or more homes) increased 67.3% to 92,000 (on a seasonally adjusted annual basis) from their abnormal and record low level of 55,000 in October. 

But this is a volatile data series, and the multifamily sector isn’t anywhere close to recovery yet. “On a three-month average basis,” said Crowe, “multifamily starts remain on a downward path that began in the middle of 2008 as vacancy rates continue to rise and production credit remains inaccessible. Multifamily permits rose 8.8% to 111,000 (on a seasonally adjusted annual basis) but the increase was completely within buildings of 2 to 4 units. Permits for homes in buildings with five or more units remained unchanged.”

The housing market as a whole also showed some gain in starts — 8.9% overall, for a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 574,000 units.

Stay tuned for a full analysis of the monthly multifamily starts in the December issue of Multifamily Market Outlook. [return to top]