According to the new report on home construction out of Washington, there are construction trends that deserve close attention. Apartment building is cutting into the share of the housing market usually reserved for single-family homes, and impacting markets impact on gross domestic product. Unfortunately, this means that the nearly three full-time jobs created to build a single-family home is reduced one job for an apartment, with a construction value estimated at a third of a detached home. The data released by the US Commerce Department indicates that construction trends for apartments is pulling ahead of single-family homes, with building starts rising, compared to single-family home starts of 8%.
From Capitol Report – MarketWatch