Last week, the National Association of Home Builders held its Spring Legislative Conference and Leadership Meetings in Washington, DC.
The Legislative Conference saw more than a thousand NAHB members – including AGM – on the Hill talking with legislators about issues of interest to home builders, both single-family and multifamily.
The Leadership meetings included sessions with multifamily builders and developers.
Most of the active NAHB members come from small and medium-sized firms. Like AGM, most are family-owned businesses, and many are multigenerational. Every time we attend an NAHB event, we are struck by just what decent, hardworking, and clear-eyed folks they all are. And we were excited by what we heard from them.
The last few years have been tough for multifamily.
Rising costs, operating expenses, and rates have all made deals tough to pencil. Recent economic uncertainty hasn’t helped. And yet the overwhelming view of NAHB multifamily developers in Washington last week was that now is the time to move ahead. As one developer put it, “It’s foot on the gas for new construction in 2025 and 2026.”
Developers are moving ahead with projects as quickly as they can.
They see deliveries falling and fewer new projects getting started. They understand that there will be less competition from new product in 2026 and 2027. Developers and investors are adjusting to changing expectations for rates and returns. Some have land they need to get to work. All see a housing crisis and huge unmet demand.
At AGM, we are seeing the same things.
Our pipeline for 2026 and 2027 is large and growing. Developers are dusting off deals that were shelved and figuring out how to make them work. A new focus on deregulation and housing production at HUD makes FHA financing even more appealing.
Years ago, a very savvy developer taught me to be patient because he said, “The wheel always turns”. It feels like the wheel is starting to turn.
