Wednesday, June 04, 2014

New Apartments Completed, 2006 and 2013

The number of renters surpassed 40 million in 2013, a gain of more than 5 million since 2006. The median age of renters climbed from 38.9 to 40.2 during those years. How have developers responded to the surge of renters, many in their thirties and forties? 

A comparison of the characteristics of units in new multifamily buildings completed in 2013 with those completed at the peak of the housing boom in 2006 reveals a possible disconnect. While the number of units coming to market is growing (almost all of them for rent), the characteristics of new apartments are not aligning with the changing demographics of renters.

Number: 195,000 apartments in new multifamily buildings were completed in 2013, 40 percent less than the 325,000 completions in 2006. But the 2013 number was 41 percent higher than the all-time low of 138,000 in 2011. 

Size: The size of the apartments for rent in new multifamily buildings completed in 2013 was a median of 1,043 square feet, slightly smaller than the 1,090 square feet of 2006. 

Bathrooms: Only 47 percent of the apartments in new multifamily buildings completed in 2013 had two or more bathrooms, down from 62 percent in 2006.

Bedrooms: Only 55 percent of the apartments in new multifamily buildings completed in 2013 had two or more bedrooms, down from 73 percent in 2006.

Source: Census Bureau, Characteristics of Units in New Multifamily Buildings Completed

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