Multi-Family Builder and Developer Confidence Weakens Slightly in Fourth Quarter
The MMS produces two separate indices: the Multifamily Production Index (MPI) and the Multifamily Vacancy Index (MVI).
Confidence in the market for new multi-family housing weakened slightly in the fourth quarter of 2018, according to results from the Multifamily Market Survey (MMS) released recently by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). The MMS produces two separate indices: the Multifamily Production Index (MPI) dropped one point to 47 compared to the previous quarter, indicating weakening confidence; the Multifamily Vacancy Index (MVI) moved down two points to 45, representing a slight improvement in confidence about the market for existing apartments.
The MPI measures builder and developer sentiment about current conditions in the apartment and condo market on a scale of 0 to 100. The index and all of its components are scaled so that a number below 50 indicates that more respondents report conditions are getting worse than report conditions are improving. The MPI has been slightly below 50 for two consecutive quarters.