Multifamily unit completions hit a 38-year high of 608,000 in 2024, according to an analysis of the Census Bureau’s Survey of Construction by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB).
For the eighth consecutive year, the majority of the units, 54% or 330,000, were in high-density buildings, those with 50 or more units. The remaining 278,000 units were in low-medium-density buildings.
According to the NAHB, among the multifamily units completed last year, 95%, or 580,000, were built as rentals, with over half of these, 55%, in a building with 50 or more units.
“This is a seismic shift toward high-density buildings, as this share was only 25% in 2004,” noted the NAHB. “Over the past 20 years, there has consistently been a falling share of units in buildings with 10 to 19 units, as the share in 2004 was 24%, while in 2024, this share only accounts for 4% of completed units.”
The number of units built for sale increased from 20,000 in 2023 to 29,000 last year. Forty percent of these units are in buildings with 50 or more units, up from 28% in 2023. The market share for for-sale units in buildings with 10 to 19 units dropped to just 13% last year from 23% in 2023.
The South was the top region for completions, increasing from 212,000 in 2023 to 292,000 last year and accounting for 48% of the nation’s total. The West came in second with 27% of the share, or 163,000 units, followed by the Midwest, with 87,000 units, and the Northeast with 68,000 units.
