Multifamily Rental Construction Activity
NAHB's two multifamily construction indices told slightly different stories in December. The index for current construction remained perfectly steady at 40, while the index for construction expected over the next six months increased four points to 41(the first time in six months it has risen above 40). 

The indices are derived from a survey that asks builders to rate construction as good, fair, or poor. The improvement in the expectations index was driven entirely by a shift from poor to fair, as the share expecting construction activity to be good actually declined slightly. The trends in the responses to the current construction question were similar, but there the poor-to-fair shift was just strong enough to offset the decline in good responses and keep the index constant at 40. After generally drifting downward in 2000 and 2001, the construction indices failed to show a persistent trend in either direction during most of 2002.

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