by Calculated Risk on 10/27/2021 01:59:00 PM

The National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC) released their October survey data:

The Market Tightness Index decreased from 96 to 82 – indicating further tightening in market conditions (any reading above 50 indicates tighter conditions).

Most (71 percent) respondents reported tighter market conditions than in the July survey, compared to only 8 percent who reported looser conditions. Twenty percent of respondents felt that conditions were unchanged from 3 months ago.


Click on graph for larger image.

This graph shows the quarterly Apartment Tightness Index. Any reading above 50 indicates tighter conditions from the previous quarter. 

Even though the index declined in October, this indicates market conditions tightened further in October, after being especially weak during the early months of the pandemic.

Here is the question and the responses:

71% of respondents said their markets were tighter (lower vacancy / higher rents) than 3 months ago.

Historically that is a very high percentage.