Kermit Baker, chief economist for the American Institute of Architects, has projected that mutlifamily starts are expected to increase more than 30% this year, an additional 20% in 2013 and another 9% in 2014.
Kermit Baker, chief economist for the American Institute of Architects, has projected that mutlifamily starts are expected to increase more than 30% this year, an additional 20% in 2013 and another 9% in 2014. The forecast was made at at the recent Window and Door Manufacturers Association Executive Management Conference in Boston, Massachusetts. “Even with this, we’ll still be at 305,000 starts, well below the peak of 400,000.” Both the collapse of the housing market and the economy are contributing to growth in the national rentership rate, Baker said, noting that a wide range of households across gender, race, marital status and even age have joined the ranks of renters since the housing downturn. Economists at the WDMA event predicted housing starts would grow 20% to 22% in 2013, with remodeling seeing a 4 percent increase. Jonathan Smoke, Hanley Wood’s Executive Director of Market Intelligence, summarized the projected numbers for 2013: 874,000 housing starts, 10,472,378 R&R projects, 1,508,970 are projects over $1,000, and 4,523,236 door replacements.