About NMHC

Overview

Based in Washington, DC, NMHC is a national association representing the interests of the larger and most prominent apartment firms in the U.S. NMHC's members are the principal officers of firms engaged in all aspects of the apartment industry, including ownership, development, management, and financing.  Nearly one-third of American households rent, and over 14 percent of households live in a rental apartment (buildings with five or more units).  

What We Do

• Advocacy
  Working closely with Congress, the Executive Branch, and state and local government officials, NMHC actively helps shape legislation and regulations that affect the industry. The Council concentrates on public policies that are of strategic importance to participants in multifamily housing, including housing and finance, tax, technology, property management, environmental and building codes.
  
   
• Strategic Information
  NMHC is acknowledged as the preeminent source of apartment-related information.   NMHC’s research initiatives assist members in making critical business decisions, improve the industry’s policy and regulatory environment, and provide consumers with full information on their housing choices. 

NMHC has also published a wide variety of monographs addressing topics such as smart growth, fair housing, human resources and rent control. 

• Public Affairs
  As the premier organization representing multifamily housing, NMHC proactively seeks opportunities to promote the industry's continued growth and positive public image. NMHC’s public relations program emphasizes the desirability of apartment living and seeks to counteract the notion that homeownership is universally preferred. 

Industry Overview

• Nearly eighty-nine million Americans, almost one third of all Americans rent their housing.
  
  
• There are 17.3 million apartments in the U.S. (in properties with 5+ units).  They house 16.5 million households, or more than 14 percent of all households.
  
  
• The value of the entire apartment stock (buildings with 5 or more units) is $2.2 trillion.
  
  
• Rental revenues from apartments total almost $120 billion annually, and management and operation of apartments are responsible for approximately 550,000 jobs.
  
  
• Construction of apartment communities in the last five years has added an average of 210,000 new apartment homes per year.  The value of the new construction has averaged over these five years more than $32 billion annually, providing jobs to over 270,000 workers.
  
  
• Apartment living now attracts a wide variety of Americans, including households that could afford to buy, but prefer the convenience of renting.  In fact, households making $50,000 or more a year make up a quarter of all apartment renters.
  
  
• The U.S. is on the cusp of fundamental change in our housing dynamics as changing demographics and housing preferences drive more people away from the typical suburban house.  According to Professor Arthur C. Nelson, Presidential Professor and Director of Metropolitan Research at the University of Utah's College of Architecture and Planning, to meet emerging housing demands, between now and 2020, half of all new homes built will have to be rental units. 

For more quick facts, visit www.nmhc.org/goto/quickfacts.