In preparation for the multifamily quarterly feature in Real Estate Forum magazine, we sat down with many multifamily experts from around the country. In the first part of this series, we talked about whether or not apartment vacancy will tick upward in 2016. In part two, we talk about multifamily construction and absorption. Will falling homeownership rate and increased desire for infill housing cause the historical new jobs versus apartment absorption ratio to fall? One source seems to this so in this exclusive Q&A below.

GlobeSt.com: As of now, it seems as though multifamily construction is slightly outpacing net absorption. What are your thoughts on that? Should we expect vacancy increased to accelerate? Will the market be able to digest the new supply in the pipeline?

Steve Patterson, president and CEO of Related Development LLC (the multifamily division of The Related Group):If you are driving out of the rear mirror, it may look like we are beginning to over build. Rising rents and occupancies however don't support that based upon current deliveries. Permitting does appear to be slightly ahead of historical absorption paces as they correlate to job growth. We believe that the falling homeownership rate and increased desire for infill housing will cause the historical new jobs vs. apartment absorption ratio to fall, meaning that it will take less jobs going forward to absorb each unit than in the past. Vacancy increases should be minimal and limited to certain submarkets at current job growth and new supply rates.