There are 948k multi-family housing units being built right now, most since Nov 1973!

Who’s more consistent than Bill McBride with housing stats? Below is a link to his analysis of this morning’s new home construction data for January. The chart here plus his remarks excerpted below describe an encouraging trend in new home construction that may help home buying and rental prices.

Red [in the chart above] is single family units. Currently there are 752 thousand single family units (red) under construction (SA). This was down in January compared to December, and 76 thousand below the recent peak in April and May 2022. Single family units under construction have peaked since single family starts are now declining. The reason there are still so many homes under construction is probably due to supply constraints.

Blue is for 2+ units. Currently there are 948 thousand multi-family units under construction. This is the highest level since November 1973! For multi-family, construction delays are probably also a factor. The completion of these units should help with rent pressure.

Combined, there are 1.700 million units under construction, just below the all-time record of 1.711 million set in October 2022.