Across the country, even in metro areas more accustomed to single-family sprawl, multi-family housing is driving the residential construction recovery, report Shaila Dewan and Nelson D. Schwartz.
"As residential building recovers from a near standstill after the housing crisis, much of the momentum is coming not from subdivisions with green lawns and two-car garages but from rental apartments," say Dewan and Schwartz. "Multifamily construction nationwide is two-thirds of the way back to its prerecession peak, while single-family home construction is still only about a third of the way back to its peak, said David Crowe, the chief economist of the National Association of Home Builders."
Led by cities across the South and West such as Houston, Denver, Oakland, Seattle, Miami and Charlotte, builders are responding to pent up demand by young people moving out of their parents' homes, unleashed by an improving job market.
“The demand for building is all over the country, really,” said Ric Campo, Camden Property’s chairman and chief executive. “We’re seeing higher rents, faster lease-ups, lower construction costs — everything you want to see. Part of it is there’s just a pent-up demand for new product because we didn’t build anything during the downturn.”
While some fear the current surge could lead to overbuilding, "Andy McCulloch, the head of residential research at Green Street Advisors, a real estate analysis firm, said it was a misconception that growing momentum in the single-family housing market would hurt the rental market."
“If I was an apartment landlord, the only thing that would really freak me out from the buying side is the return of easy credit,” he said. “But that doesn’t seem to be coming back anytime soon.”
FULL STORY: Soaring Rents Drive a Boom in Apartments
Depopulation Patterns Get Weird
A recent ranking of “declining” cities heavily features some of the most expensive cities in the country — including New York City and a half-dozen in the San Francisco Bay Area.
California Exodus: Population Drops Below 39 Million
Never mind the 40 million that demographers predicted the Golden State would reach by 2018. The state's population dipped below 39 million to 38.965 million last July, according to Census data released in March, the lowest since 2015.
Chicago to Turn High-Rise Offices into Housing
Four commercial buildings in the Chicago Loop have been approved for redevelopment into housing in a bid to revitalize the city’s downtown post-pandemic.
LA County Receives Reconnecting Communities Grants
Seven grant awards totaling $162 million will be used for planning, capital projects, and regional partnerships to reduce environmental harm and improve access in disadvantaged communities.
Seine Pollution Could Hinder Olympic Swim Events
Events like the triathlon could be impacted if tests continue to reveal high levels of dangerous bacteria in Paris’ famous river.
How Financing Restricts the Rental Housing Market
The way apartment buildings are financed has a major impact on supply and costs.
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