NMHC collected 54 responses from leading multifamily construction firms for the NMHC COVID-19 Construction Survey, Round 5. The survey was open from October 6th to October 27th, 2020. This was the fifth installment in a series of surveys aimed to help the industry stay on top of changing construction market conditions. The first round of this survey was conducted from March 27th to April 1st, 2020 and collected 135 responses. The fourth round of this survey was conducted from July 6th to July 15th, 2020 and collected 61 responses.
Note: There were several questions added and/or removed for the fourth and fifth rounds of the survey in an effort to gain more specific information around some of the ever-changing conditions, and to remove questions that no longer add relevant information.
In jurisdictions where you operate, are you experiencing construction delays?
| Round 5 | Round 4 | Round 3 | Round 2 | Round 1 | |
| Yes | 57% | 57% | 53% | 56% | 55% |
| No | 41% | 43% | 44% | 38% | 42% |
| N/A | 2% | 0% | 3% | 6% | 3% |
For respondents who reported experiencing construction delays:
Are you experiencing delays in permitting?
| Round 5 | Round 4 | Round 3 | Round 2 | Round 1 | |
| Yes | 90% | 83% | 85% | 77% | 76% |
| No | 10% | 17% | 5% | 17% | 18% |
| N/A | 0% | 0% | 10% | 6% | 7% |
Are you experiencing delays in starts?
| Round 5 | Round 4 | Round 3 | Round 2 | Round 1 | |
| Yes | 77% | 71% | 78% | 70% | 59% |
| No | 16% | 23% | 7% | 13% | 24% |
| N/A | 6% | 6% | 15% | 17% | 16% |
For respondents who reported experiencing delays in starts:
What is the cause of delays in starts at this point? (Respondents could select multiple options; totals will not add to 100%)
| Round 5 | Round 4 | |
| Economic uncertainty | 58% | 52% |
| Project is not economically feasible at this time | 38% | 16% |
| Permitting, entitlement, professional services | 67% | 56% |
| Health and safety concerns | 13% | 28% |
| Availability of construction financing | 46% | 48% |
| Other/specific delays | 0% | 8% |
What is the estimated duration of the delays in starts?
| Round 5 | Round 4 | |
| Less than 6 months | 63% | 52% |
| 6-12 months | 21% | 44% |
| 13-18 months | 4% | 0% |
| More than 18 months | 0% | 0% |
| Other | 13% | 4% |
Are you experiencing delays in construction related to a construction moratorium?
| Round 4 & 5 | Round 3 | Round 2 | Round 1 | |
| Yes | N/A | 37% | 40% | 62% |
| No | N/A | 56% | 51% | 38% |
| N/A | N/A | 7% | 9% | 0% |
For respondents who reported delays in construction related to a construction moratorium:
Does your local moratorium include multifamily construction projects?
| Round 4 & 5 | Round 3 | Round 2 | Round 1 | |
| Yes | N/A | 100% | 95% | 82% |
| No | N/A | 0% | 0% | 13% |
| N/A | N/A | 0% | 5% | 4% |
Have you paused or canceled any upcoming projects, or those scheduled to take place since the onset of COVID-19 in Mid-March?
| Round 5 | Round 4 | |
| Paused but will definitely resume | 26% | 23% |
| Paused with uncertainty around resuming | 9% | 18% |
| Paused earlier in pandemic but have resumed | 31% | 18% |
| Canceled | 0% | 2% |
| Have not paused or canceled operations at this point | 33% | 36% |
| Other | 0% | 3% |
Has the recent spike in new Coronavirus cases impacted your operations in those jurisdictions?
| Round 4 Only | |
| Yes | 51% |
| No | 48% |
| N/A | 2% |
Have you experienced deals being repriced?
| Round 5 | Round 4 | |
| Yes, priced down 5% or more | 11% | 15% |
| Yes, priced down 3-4% | 4% | 11% |
| Yes, priced down 1-2% | 11% | 15% |
| No | 42% | 31% |
| Yes, priced up 1-2% | 13% | 8% |
| Yes, priced up 3-4% | 8% | 3% |
| Yes, priced up 5% or more | 6% | 0% |
| N/A | 6% | 16% |
Have you experienced issues in obtaining financing or construction loans?
| Round 5 | Round 4 | |
| Yes, unable to obtain at all | 4% | 2% |
| Yes, unable to obtain at desired price point | 11% | 21% |
| Yes, some delays in obtaining but otherwise fine | 36% | 36% |
| No, obtaining financing without issue | 30% | 13% |
| N/A | 19% | 28% |
Are you impacted by lack of materials?
| Round 5 | Round 4 | Round 3 | Round 2 | Round 1 | |
| Yes | 80% | 36% | 29% | 28% | 24% |
| No | 20% | 57% | 65% | 67% | 73% |
| N/A | 0% | 7% | 5% | 5% | 3% |
Are you seeing price increases in materials?
| Round 5 | Round 4 | Round 3 | Round 2 | Round 1 | |
| Yes | 82% | 18% | 17% | 4% | 5% |
| No | 16% | 64% | 78% | 87% | 88% |
| N/A | 2% | 18% | 5% | 10% | 7% |
For respondents who reported experiencing price increases:
Please indicate the magnitude of price increases for most impacted materials.
| Round 5 | |
| 0-5% | 23% |
| 6-10% | 18% |
| 11-15% | 18% |
| 16-20% | 5% |
| Greater than 20% | 38% |
Are you impacted by availability of labor?
| Round 5 | Round 4 | Round 3 | Round 2 | Round 1 | |
| Yes | 20% | 39% | 25% | 44% | 41% |
| No | 78% | 56% | 70% | 54% | 57% |
| N/A | 2% | 5% | 5% | 2% | 2% |
Have you implemented any new strategies to deal with the current hurdles?
| Round 5 | Round 4 | Round 3 | Round 2 | Round 1 | |
| Yes | 60% | 52% | 59% | 75% | 73% |
| No | 36% | 41% | 33% | 20% | 23% |
| N/A | 4% | 7% | 8% | 5% | 5% |
For respondents who reported implementing new strategies to deal with the current hurdles:
What new strategies have you implemented to deal with the current situation (respondents could select multiple options- cannot be summed to 100%)
| Round 5 | Round 4 | Round 3 | Round 2 | Round 1 | |
| Sourcing materials from alternative locations | 80% | 56% | 50% | 48% | 43% |
| Sourcing alternative building materials | 57% | 28% | 24% | 19% | 16% |
| Using technology to replace in-person transactions like inspections and approvals | 50% | 47% | 59% | 63% | 67% |
| Staggering shifts to reduce on-site exposure | 37% | 59% | 54% | 58% | 52% |
| Offering workforce incentives or other benefits | 23% | 22% | 24% | 16% | 14% |
| Other | 7% | 16% | 15% | 13% | 14% |
