APRIL 6, 2017 — The U.S. Census Bureau released today estimates from the Survey of Market Absorption in a report titled, Survey of Market Absorption of New Multifamily Units – Annual 2016 Absorptions (Apartments Completed in 2015) Report. This survey, conducted on behalf of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, measures how soon privately financed, nonsubsidized, unfurnished units in buildings with five or more units are rented or sold (absorbed) after completion. Data regarding the number of bedrooms, asking rent and asking price are also collected.

 Highlights:

• There were approximately 310,300 apartments of all types constructed in buildings of five or more units in 2015. This is the highest number reported by the Survey of Market Absorption since 2000, when 300,000 units were constructed.
  
• There were approximately 261,800 privately financed, nonsubsidized, unfurnished rental apartments in buildings with five units or more completed in permit-issuing areas in the United States. This is approximately 51,000 more rental apartments completed than in 2014, and represents the largest number of completions reported since 1988 (284,500).   
• The median asking price for all condominium apartments built in 2015 was $461,100. Twenty-three percent of the 11,300 condominiums sold with an asking price of more than $700,000.  

For more information, please visit <www.census.gov/programs-surveys/soma.html>. 

No news release associated with this report. Tip Sheet only.

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The estimates in this report are based on responses from a sample. Estimates vary from actual values because of sampling variation or other factors. All comparisons made in this report have undergone statistical testing and are significant at the 90 percent confidence level.