Duplexes and townhomes do not always make housing cheaper

Not every housing policy labeled “affordable” is actually designed to make housing more affordable. That is the central problem with today’s “missing middle” debate. Across the country, duplexes, triplexes, courtyard apartments, townhomes and small multifamily buildings are being promoted as the solution to America’s housing affordability crisis. The argument sounds clean and appealing: allow more […]

Will the ROAD Act change what pencils for multifamily rentals?

Will the ROAD Act change what pencils for multifamily rentals?
While the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act remains in Oval Office big yawn limbo, its game-changing relevance to multifamily developers, apartment builders, rental housing investors and capital providers is clear. The bill has passed both chambers of Congress by historic bipartisan margins. What it has not yet done is become law. That leaves four […]

Akron looks to deflate minimum lot size rules to spur infill

Leaders in Akron, a heartland city nearly 40 miles south of Cleveland, hope to shed the city’s “Rust Belt” label and drive its emerging revival by making it easier to build new homes. To achieve the objective, planners believe they’re on the verge of eliminating minimum lot sizes to counteract a shrinking-city paradox. Population loss […]

Built-for-rent multifamily starts jump 18% in Q4 2025

Built-for-rent multifamily construction surged at the end of 2025, extending the cycle’s heavy tilt toward rentals and keeping average apartment sizes below pre-Great Recession levels, according to a National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) analysis of Census Bureau data. NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz reported that 96,000 multifamily units started construction in the fourth quarter […]