Multifamily house starts in the U.S. 1980-2023, with forecasts until 2025

In the United States, it is expected that there will be approximately 142,000 multifamily housing starts less in 2024 than in 2023. However, it is forecasted that the number of construction starts for multifamily housing units will pick up slightly in 2025, after two years of falling starts. 

Multifamily vs single-family housing demand

Multifamily housing includes various types of housing, such as apartment buildings, condominiums, duplexes, and townhouses. Housing starts fell during the 2007-2009 financial crisis for both single-family and multifamily housing. More single-family housing units are built in the U.S. annually. However, multifamily starts had returned to pre-recession levels by 2013, whereas single-family starts are still significantly below pre-recession levels.

Are multifamily homes getting smaller?

The median size of multifamily homes has slightly shrunk since 2007, which is a trend also visible in the size of newly built apartments since the recession. This trend towards smaller homes suggests that space is becoming increasingly limited, or that consumers prefer smaller homes due to smaller mortgages, lower maintenance costs and lower utility costs.