Multifamily Builder and Developer Confidence Weakens Slightly in Third Quarter

Washington, D.C. -- Confidence in the market for new multifamily housing weakened slightly in the third quarter, according to results from the Multifamily Market Survey (MMS) released by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). The MMS produces two separate indices: the Multifamily Production Index (MPI) fell seven points to 49 compared to the previous quarter; meanwhile, the Multifamily Vacancy Index (MVI) remained even at 40, with lower numbers indicating fewer vacancies.

The MPI measures builder and developer sentiment about current conditions in the apartment and condo market on a scale of 0 to 100. The index and all of its components are scaled so that a number below 50 indicates that more respondents report conditions are getting worse than report conditions are improving.