South Dakota, Minnesota Are Building Tons of Multi-Family Units

If it seems like there are more and more multi-family dwellings being built lately, you're not imagining things.

Increased demand for apartments and condominiums has builders working overtime to keep up with demand.

In fact, the percentage of new housing in multi-family structures has reached its highest level since 1985, and two of the busiest states amidst the construction boom are South Dakota and Minnesota.

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ConstructionCoverage.com looked at the latest figures from the U.S. Census Bureau and found that the Mount Rushmore State and North Star State are each in the top ten among states with the highest percentages of multi-family structures in all new construction units.

South Dakota currently sits at nearly 59 percent, which is the fourth highest in America. Minnesota checks in at just under 57 percent, which is seventh most.

STATES WITH HIGHEST PERCENTAGE OF MULTI-FAMILY UNITS AS PART OF ALL NEW HOUSING 

1. New York: 73.7%
2. Massachusetts: 65.0%
3. New Jersey: 64.3%
4. South Dakota: 58.4%
5. Washington: 58.4%
6. Connecticut: 56.8%
7. Minnesota: 56.7%
8. Nebraska: 54.4%
9. Hawaii: 53.3%
10. Illinois: 52.5%

In all, new multi-family dwellings make up more than half of the new housing units in 12 states.

Broken down by city, Minnesota's Twin Cities are tenth among large metro markets at 61.6 percent. New York City (79.3%) is number one.

A pair of Tri-State area markets are in the top five in the small metros category. Mankato is number two (70.9%) and Sioux Falls is number three (70.7%). Napa, California (80%) is number one.

Experts say the increased demand for multi-family units is being fueled by a few different factors.

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, housing costs have been running about 30 percent higher than pre-pandemic.

There has also been a lack of single-family houses available, with a 3.8 million unit shortage across the country.

Most recently, mortgage rates have risen rapidly, souring the market for single-family dwellings.

All of that has led to a jump in demand for apartments and condos.

In 2021, the total number of multi-family units in the U.S. stood at 491,700, or 33.4 percent of the new housing market. One year later, the overall number of multi-family units soared to 689,500, or 41.4% of new housing.