Signs of Life in Multifamily Construction?

Architects are the first to feel the pain of a sagging housing market and the first to see the beginnings of an upswing. So if the recent uptick in project inquiries received by the Dallas- based Humphries and Partners is any indication, the apartment business is starting to look up. The highly-regarded design firm, which last year submitted the largest number of new FHA 221(d)(4) financed market rate projects of any architect in the country, hasn't been overwhelmed by requests from multi-family developers, but "we are encouraged by positive signs in the market," said Mark Humphries. "Not a deluge, but strong," Humphries said of the inquiries. "The wise apartment developers recognize that interest rates will never be this low, construction volume will never be this low, construction costs will never be this low, and the pending demand is going to be the largest growth in apartments ever seen."