Number of multifamily building permits in the U.S. 2000-2019

There were 524,000 building permits for multifamily housing units granted in the United States in 2019, compared with 473,000 over the previous twelve months. In contrast, there were around 862,000 building permits for single-family housing units authorized in 2019.

Multifamily housing projects on the increase

Multifamily homes refer to buildings that contain at least two housing units, including apartment buildings and duplexes. In 2019, building work had started on over 400,000 multifamily housing units in the United States – the highest number recorded in recent decades. Overall, there were more than 56 million multifamily dwellings in the United States in 2018, and the number is predicted to exceed 155 million by 2023.

What are the trends in size of different properties?

One of the noticeable differences between multifamily and single-family housing is the size of the units. In 2019, the median size of a multifamily unit in the United States reached 1,076 square feet; in contrast, the median size of a single-family housing unit was more than twice as large.