The September 2026 Quarterly Survey of Construction & Development Activity (Construction Quarterly Survey) was conducted from September 1-18, 2026 and received 60 responses from leading multifamily construction and development firms.
Historical data from each of our surveys can be found as downloadable spreadsheets on our website.
Construction Indicators Q3 2026 (% of Respondents)
Starts
29%
Reported fewer
starts
Delays
12%
Reported increase
in delays
Pricing
51%
Saw deals
repriced
Labor
22%
Reported labor
costs increased
Inputs
50%
Reported material
costs unchanged
Respondents report fewer starts and more delays
Less than half of the builders and developers that responded to NMHC's September 2026 Construction Quarterly Survey (41% of respondents) reported that multifamily starts were unchanged compared to three months ago. Meanwhile, 29% of respondents thought starts had decreased and 24% thought starts had increased.
How would you characterize the number of multifamily projects your firm is starting currently?
For projects already started, a majority of respondents (61%) reported experiencing relatively unchanged levels of delays. Meanwhile, 24% of respondents were evenly split between experiencing fewer delays (12%; down from 20% in June) and experiencing more delays (12%; up from 3% in June). Furthermore, thirty-seven percent of respondents reported additional project requirements being imposed in their jurisdictions (down from 57% in June).
- Thirty-two percent of respondents expect material costs to increase faster than the rate of inflation compared to 9% who expect material costs to increase at a slower rate (55% think costs will remain the same or track inflation).
- Twenty percent of respondents expect labor costs to increase faster than the rate of inflation compared to 13% who expect labor costs to increase at a slower rate (64% think costs will remain the same or track inflation).
- Thirty-eight percent of respondents expect material costs to increase faster than the rate of inflation compared to 14% who expect costs to increase at a slower rate (45% think costs will remain the same or track inflation).
- Thirty-nine percent of respondents expect labor costs to increase faster than the rate of inflation compared to 14% who expect labor costs to increase at a slower rate (44% think costs will remain the same or track inflation).
Most respondents expect material and labor costs to remain stable or increase.
Twenty-two percent of respondents thought that the cost of construction labor increased at a faster pace than overall inflation over the past three months, more than doubling from 8% last quarter, while 19% of respondents thought cost of labor had decreased or increased at a slower pace than inflation. Around half (53%) of respondents thought costs were relatively unchanged.
Half of respondents (50%) reported material costs increasing at roughly the same rate as inflation since last quarter, one third (33%) of respondents thought that material costs increased faster than inflation, and 12% of respondents said costs decreased or increased slower than the pace of inflation.
How do costs of construction labor and materials compare with three months ago?
| Material Costs | Labor Costs | |
|---|---|---|
| Costs have increased faster than the rate of inflation | 33% | 22% |
| Costs have decreased or increased at a slower rate than overall inflation | 12% | 19% |
| Costs are relatively unchanged / have increased at about the same rate as inflation | 50% | 53% |
| N/A | 5% | 5% |
Respondents expect material and labor costs to increase faster than the rate of inflation over the coming year.
More specifically, over the next three months:
Over the longer run (6-12 months):
Respondents foresee challenges over the next three months but remain optimistic in their longer-term outlook
Twenty-one percent of respondents expect overall market conditions to decline over the next three months compared to 7% who expect conditions to improve. The majority of respondents (68%), meanwhile, expect multifamily construction conditions to remain the same over the next three months.
Looking further ahead, half of the respondents (50%) expect conditions to improve over the next 6–12 months (up from 46% in June) compared to 12% who expect conditions to decline (down from 14% in June). Nearly a third of respondents (31%) expect conditions to remain the same.
What are your expectations for the overall multifamily construction market over the next 3 months, 3-6 months, and 6-12 months?
| I expect conditions will improve (i.e., easier to build) | I expect conditions will decline | I expect conditions will remain the same | Don't know / N/A | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Over the next 3 months | 7% | 21% | 68% | 4% |
| Over the next 3-6 months | 14% | 19% | 61% | 5% |
| Over the next 6-12 months | 50% | 12% | 31% | 7% |
Respondents anticipate a brief pullback in equity financing over the next three months, with a quarter (25%) expecting equity to become less available and just 5% expecting it to become more available. That caution fades over a longer horizon, as 39% believe equity financing will become more available over the next 6–12 months compared to only 16% who expect a decline.
Debt financing looks more favorable in the near term: 16% of respondents expect it to become more available in the next three months versus 9% who expect it to become less available. Over the next 6–12 months, 31% of respondents anticipate greater debt availability compared to just 10% who expect the opposite, suggesting that respondents see both debt and equity conditions improving over the coming year.
