With shelter costs a growing issue across the country, construction of affordable multifamily housing is an increasingly important component of the nation’s housing stock. Completions of affordable multifamily (defined as properties that agree to limit rents as a condition of a tax credit or subsidy) are set to reach a multi-year high of 78,000 in 2025, according to data compiled by Yardi Matrix.

Meanwhile, multifamily starts have dropped as construction becomes more difficult, which means deliveries will decline in coming years at the same time the demand is growing. Starts of fully affordable units fell by 28.7 percent to 66,000 in 2024, the lowest number since 2020. However, starts of market-rate apartments fell even faster, by 47 percent to 208,000 in 2024, the lowest number since 2013. The result is that affordable multifamily construction is increasing as a share of all multifamily development activity.

Some of the decline in affordable housing starts are due t