APARTMENT DEMAND
The U.S. needs to build 4.3 million more apartments by 2035 to meet the demand for rental housing. This includes 600,000 units (total) to fill the shortage from underbuilding after the 2008 financial crisis.
The apartment industry stands ready to work with urban, suburban and rural communities in every region to meet the housing demand of Americans across all income levels.
OUTREACH
We can do this
It takes a team
Apartments and their residents contribute $3.9 trillion to the national economy annually, supporting 20 million jobs.
The apartment industry and lawmakers at all levels of government have a variety of policy levers they can use to address the need for more apartments.
By working together we can solve housing affordability challenges.
Economic Impact Report
Hoyt Advisory Services and Eigen10 Advisors research estimates the estimated how much apartments and their residents contribute to the economy at the national, state and local level.
Future Demand Research
NMHC and NAA partnered with Hoyt Advisory Services to identify the demand for apartments through 2035. Download their analysis of the apartment industry.
Policies that work
Solutions to help build the housing the nation needs are out there but need to be more broadly adopted across the country. They include reducing barriers to apartment construction, reforming land-use and zoning regulations, reducing parking requirements, and creating more public-private partnerships.
NATIONAL DATA
We need to build more
The country needs to build 266,000 new apartment homes each year to meet demand. This is in addition to an existing shortage of 600,000 units. If this demand goes unmet, existing affordability issues will only be exacerbated.
Median Apartment Income
Rental housing has gotten more expensive to build and operate. At the same time, stagnant incomes have made it harder for people to pay for housing. In 2019 dollars, the median income of an apartment household has risen only marginally since 1985.
Median apartment income (2019 dollars)
Apartment Households
The supply shortage has led to an increasing number of renter households who are paying more than they can afford. The total share of cost-burdened apartment households (those paying more than thirty percent of their income on housing) increased steadily from 42 percent in 1985 to 55 percent in 2019.
Apartment HHS paying over 30% of income on housing
THE RESEARCH
We partnered with top researchers at Hoyt Advisory Services and Eigen10 Advisors to estimate the economic impact of the apartment industry as well as demand for apartments in the future.
Forecasted Demographic Data
Demographic data was drawn from several U.S. Census Bureau surveys, including the 2020 American Community Survey (ACS) which was the most recent ACS survey at the time of this report. Economic and demographic trend and forecast data was drawn from Moody's Analytics supplemented by other sources including U.S. Census Bureau, Federal Reserve and other forecast surveys such as the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia Survey of Professional Forecasters. Property market data was derived from the U.S. Census Bureau and CoStar Realty information.
Economic Impact Data
Economic impact data (spending, economic contribution and jobs created) were estimated by Hoyt Advisory Services and Eigen10 Advisors using multipliers from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Input-Output Modelling System (RIMS II). Source data for the impact analysis included the NAA Survey of Income and Expenses and the U.S. Census Bureau’s New Residential Construction, Building Permits, and Value of Construction Put in Place surveys, as well as their Survey of Residential Improvements and Repairs. Other data sources include CoStar© Realty Information and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Expenditure Survey.
Other Demographics
Descriptive current and historical demographic and housing data (such as the number of apartment residents and the size of the apartment stock) are NMHC tabulations of the most recently available American Community Survey microdata.