Multifamily house starts in the U.S. 1980-2023, with forecasts until 2026

In the United States, it is expected that there will be approximately 5,000 multifamily housing starts less in 2025 than in 2024. However, it is forecasted that the number of construction starts for multifamily housing units will pick up slightly in 2026, 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. The number of housing starts of single-family has also fallen in 2022 and 2023, but it already started growing again in 2024, showing a faster recovery than the multifamily housing segment. 

Are multifamily homes getting smaller?

The median size of multifamily homes has median size of multifamily homes has shrunk by nearly 200 square feet between 2007 and 2023. 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.