Not only are new home starts increasing, the multi-family market is being revived according to industry panelists’ at the recent National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) International Builders’ Show (IBS) in Las Vegas. The general concensus was that the multi-family market has had strong demand in recent years and is set to remain that way in 2015, despite certain headwinds that could affect the industry.
The World Property Journal tells MHProNews that panelists said the number of multifamily apartments forecast to be built is likely to reach a sustainable level higher than the levels of production in the past. As the industry reaches that new plateau, the pace of construction is likely to level off in 2015 and into 2016.
One of the markets in particular within the multifamily industry that has strong demand is affordable rental housing. “There are many families in America that have a great need for affordable housing,” said Mike Costa, president and CEO of Highridge Costa Housing Partners LLC in Gardena, California. “We have a long waiting list for our apartments at all of our communities. There is a need for us to be building more.”
Panelists also discussed the current design and amenity trends that they are seeing in the industry. “Green and energy-efficient features and building practices continue to be popular, including high-efficiency appliances and mechanical systems, green roofs, locally sourced building materials and the recycling of construction waste,” said Sanford Steinberg, AIA, CGP, principal of Steinberg Design Collaborative LLP in Houston.
Another trend is the choice to use modular construction for multi-family dwellings to save money and speed up construction time. As related in a previous article in MHProNews, a high-rise apartment building is currently being built in Brooklyn, New York, using modules made at a factory located in Brooklyn’s Navy Yard. Workers there are creating extremely precise, 450- to 950-square-foot apartments that will click and seal together to form 32 stories of stacked modular apartments.
On the west coast, there are several multi-family projects under way using modular construction. In Oakland, California, there is a 136-unit multifamily project under way using modular construction, which will save developers up to 30 percent of the usual costs. Additional modular projects of at least 70 units each are planned for San Francisco, Oakland, Emeryville, and San Leandro in the next year. ##
(Photo Credit: World Property Journal)
Article submitted by Sandra Lane to – Daily Business News – MHProNews.
