The March 2026 Quarterly Survey of Construction & Development Activity (Construction Quarterly Survey) was conducted from March 4 -18, 2026 and received 42 responses from leading multifamily construction and development firms.
The Construction Quarterly Survey began in March 2022 and was subsequently revised—first in June 2024, and once more December 2025—to better capture current trends and the most relevant indicators in the multifamily construction market. Historical data from each of our surveys, both before and after revision, can be found as downloadable spreadsheets on our website.
Construction Indicators Q1 2026 (% of Respondents)
Starts
48%
Reported starts
to be unchanged
Delays
31%
Reported decrease
in delays
Pricing
48%
Saw deals
repriced
Labor
69%
Reported labor
costs unchanged
Inputs
24%
Reported decrease
in material costs
Most respondents report unchanged or increased starts, fewer delays
The builders and developers that responded to NMHC's March 2026 Construction Quarterly Survey mostly reported (48% of respondents) that multifamily starts are relatively unchanged compared to three months ago. Thirty-one percent of respondents, meanwhile, reported starting more projects than three months earlier, while just 12% reported starting fewer projects (down from 25% in December).
How would you characterize the number of multifamily projects your firm is starting currently?
For projects already started, only 2% of respondents reported experiencing more construction delays compared to three months ago. A majority of respondents reported either fewer construction delays compared to three months ago (31% of respondents) or relatively unchanged levels of delays (60%).
Labor and material costs continue to ease
A large majority of respondents (69%) reported that labor costs increased at about the same rate as inflation, 21% of respondents reported that labor costs decreased or increased at a slower rate than inflation (down from 33% in December), while just 5% reported labor costs rising faster than inflation (down from 7% in December).
Construction material costs continued to rise, though mostly in line with inflation. Nearly two-thirds of respondents (62%) reported material costs increasing at roughly the same rate as inflation. Meanwhile, the share reporting costs rising faster than inflation doubled, from 5% to 10%, while nearly a quarter of respondents (24%) reported material costs decreasing or growing more slowly than inflation.
How do costs of construction labor and materials compare with three months ago?
| Material Costs | Labor Costs | |
|---|---|---|
| The cost has increased faster than the rate of inflation | 10% | 5% |
| The cost has decreased or increased at a slower rate than overall inflation | 24% | 21% |
| Costs are relatively unchanged / have increased at about the same rate as inflation | 62% | 69% |
| N/A | 5% | 5% |
The share of respondents expecting the price of materials to outpace inflation in the short term (the next three months) jumped from 9% to 21% quarter-over-quarter, higher than the 14% who believe material costs will decrease or increase at a slower rate than inflation over the next three months. A third of respondents (33%) also believe that material costs will outpace inflation in 6-12 months, compared to 21% who expect material costs to decrease in real terms and 40% who expect material costs to remain about the same.
The outlook around labor costs remains the most stable, with a majority of respondents expecting costs to stay in line with inflation across all time horizons (though 29% do expect labor to accelerate longer term).
Respondents report positive long-term outlook
The majority of respondents (81%) expect multifamily construction conditions to remain the same over the next three months, with 14% expecting improvement and just 5% anticipating a decline in conditions. Looking further ahead, optimism grows: 68% expect conditions to improve over the next 6–12 months, while 24% expect conditions to stay the same and only 5% anticipate a decline.
Some of this optimism may be driven by expectations for improved financing conditions: 69% of respondents expect equity financing to become more available in 6-12 months (compared to 2% who think equity will become less available), and 37% of respondents expected debt financing to become more available over this longer time horizon (compared to 2% who expect debt to become less available).
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 | 14% | 5% | 81% | 0% |
| Over the next 3-6 months | 24% | 2% | 74% | 0% |
| Over the next 6-12 months | 68% | 5% | 24% | 2% |
Near-term expectations for general multifamily construction costs point toward relief: 43% of respondents expect costs to decrease or grow more slowly than inflation over the next three months, and just 7% expect costs to rise faster than inflation. The remaining 50% expect costs to simply keep pace with inflation. Looking further out (6–12 months), cost expectations are more mixed. Nearly half of respondents (48%) expect costs to hold steady or track with inflation, while 26% anticipate slower growth or decreases and 24% expect costs to rise faster than inflation.
