Washington, D.C.—Results from the December 2025 NMHC Quarterly Survey of Apartment Construction & Development Activity found that multifamily starts were relatively unchanged compared to three months ago. Specifically, 25% of respondents reported that their company started fewer projects compared to three months ago, 26% said they started a greater number of projects, while 43% reported starts to be relatively unchanged over the three-month period.
CoStar data show that multifamily starts have been on a downward trajectory since early 2022, so these survey results suggest that multifamily construction levels may have finally started to stabilize.
"Starts have pulled back drastically over the past two years amidst high interest rates and slowing rent growth", noted NMHC Chief Economist, Chris Bruen. "Yet, builders and developers are currently reporting lower costs for construction materials and labor and have expressed optimism about their long-term prospects."
A third of respondents reported that the cost of construction labor had decreased or increased at a slower rate than inflation over the past three months, compared to just 7% of respondents who thought that labor costs increased faster than the rate of inflation. Further, a quarter of respondents reported that costs for construction materials have decreased or increased at slower rate than inflation over the past three months, while only 5% of respondents thought that material costs increased faster than overall inflation.
Over the longer term, 70% of respondents expect conditions will improve over the next 6-12 months compared to 22% who think conditions will remain the same and 4% who think conditions will decline.
Based in Washington, D.C., the National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC) is where rental housers and suppliers come together to help meet America’s housing needs by creating inclusive and resilient communities where people build their lives. We bring together the owners, managers, developers and suppliers who provide rental homes for 40 million Americans from every walk of life—including seniors, teachers, firefighters, healthcare workers, families with children and many others. NMHC provides a forum for leadership and advocacy that promotes thriving rental housing communities for all. For more information, contact NMHC at (202) 974-2300, email the Council, or visit NMHC's website at nmhc.org.
