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

Rethinking Redlining
For decades we have blamed 100-year-old maps for the patterns of spatial racial inequity that persist in American cities today. An esteemed researcher says: we’ve got it all wrong.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

Walmart Announces Nationwide EV Charging Network
The company plans to install electric car chargers at most of its stores by 2030.

EPA Awards $267 Million to Clean Up and Reuse Contaminated Sites
The EPA is investing the funds to clean up and redevelop contaminated sites nationwide, supporting economic growth, community revitalization, and environmental restoration.

Knoxville Dedicates $1M to New Greenway
The proposed greenway would run along North Broadway and connect to 125 miles of existing trails.

Philadelphia Launches ‘Speed Slots’ Traffic Calming Pilot
The project focuses on a 1.4-mile stretch of Lincoln Drive where cars frequently drive above the posted speed limit.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
City of Moorpark
City of Tustin
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions