The number of new apartments is at a 50-year high
In 2024, nearly 592,000 new apartments were built in the U.S. the highest annual total since 1974. However, this surge in construction has been met with a significant slowdown in new projects, with apartment starts declining by 27% from 2023 and 37% from the peak in 2022, reaching their lowest level since 2013. Factors contributing to this downturn include elevated interest rates, increased construction costs due to tariffs, and labor shortages, all of which have made new developments less financially viable.
According to Stateline, “Housing experts have long lamented that there aren’t enough apartments and single-family houses in the U.S. — at least not in places where people want to live and at prices they can afford. Estimates of the national housing shortage last year varied widely, from 1.5 million houses and apartments to 20.1 million; since then, another 1.6 million houses and apartments have been built…”
