Builder and Developer Confidence in the Multifamily Housing Market Decline in Q4 2020

According to the results of the latest National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Multifamily Market Survey (MMS), builders and developer confidence in the multifamily market fell in Q4 of 2020. The MMS is broken into two separate indices: The Multifamily Production Index (MPI), which fell 5 points to 43; and the Multifamily Vacancy Index (MVI), which edged down two points to 42, with lower numbers signifying fewer unit vacancies. Any reading below 50 indicates that builders and developers see conditions worsening instead of improving. Historically, the MPI and MVI have performed well as leading indicators of U.S. Census figures for multifamily starts and vacancy rates, providing information on likely movement in the Census figures one to three quarters in advance.