U.S. multifamily starts have declined precipitously in the past year and a half and hit a 13-year low mark in 4th quarter 2024. A little over 37,000 apartment units got off the ground in the last three months of the year, according to RealPage Market Analytics aggregation of U.S. Census Bureau data. That was the lowest volume of apartment starts in the U.S. since early 2011 and was about half the volume that started just a year ago in 4th quarter 2023. The quarterly average for multifamily starts hovered around 80,000 or so units during much of 2012 through 2020. In 2021, starts volumes jumped north of 100,000 units per quarter and stayed that way until dropping off again in 2nd quarter 2023. Quarterly starts have faded considerably since. On an annual basis, just over 213,000 units started across the U.S. in 2024. That was the lowest annual volume since 1st quarter 2012. Among the largest 50 apartment markets, the biggest volume of starts were reported in Dallas, New York, Chicago, Newark and Houston. Among those, starts are down most in New York, Newark and Houston.
