Building blocks: America's constructing more apartments than ever

Building blocks: America's constructing more apartments than ever

9/7/23 8:00PM

Apartmentalize

‍The US is on course to complete construction on over 460,000 new apartment units in 2023 — the highest figure on record according to estimates from industry experts at RentCafe — with 33,000 new apartments in the New York Metro area alone.

The building boom has seen over 1.2 million new units delivered in the last 3 years, with the gap between single-family home and apartment construction opening to its widest point in almost 50 years.

‍Unaffordable housing

‍Some are celebrating the news, hoping that the flood of new apartments will translate into cheaper rent and lower house prices. Others are less optimistic, noting that — even as apartment construction hits multi-decade highs — the amount of units that lower-income groups can actually afford has been sliding the other way. Indeed, RentCafe’s report classified 89% of the new apartments as “high-end” properties targeted at upper-middle- and high-income earners. Think more “boutique Airbnb” and less “affordable starter apartment”.

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