The number of new apartments in the U.S. is at a 50-year high, but states expect a slowdown
More new apartments were built in 2024 than in any other year since 1974, but the Trump administration’s tariffs and deportations of potential construction workers, plus higher interest rates, could be a wet blanket on the boom.
A U.S. Census Bureau survey found almost 592,000 new apartments were finished last year, the most since the 1970s, when baby boomers sparked a construction surge as they moved out of their childhood homes. There were 693,000 new apartments built in 1974, when the country had about half as many households.
But there has been a steep slowdown in construction starts, as the newly completed apartments come online. The increased supply has lowered rents and increased vacancy rates, making new development less profitable. Some experts also say tariffs on construction materials and labor shortages caused by dips in immigration will create headwinds for new construction.
Apartment starts were down 27% in 2024 compared with 2023, and down 37% from a recent peak of 531,000 in 2022, despite the historic rate of completions. Apartment starts were at their lowest ebb since 2013.
https://washingtonstatestandard.com/2025/05/03/the-number-of-new-apartments-in-the-u-s-is-at-a-50-year-high-but-states-expect-a-slowdown/