DFW is the construction torchbearer with more than 22,000 new units estimated by year end.

DALLAS—Having exceeded expectations last year, US apartment construction is projected to continue slowing down in 2019. According to Yardi Matrix market forecast data, there will be an estimated 299,442 new units delivered this year. This marks a significant drop of 8.2% compared to 2018. This is when deliveries totaled 326,240, almost matching 2017's nine-year peak of 331,765 new units.

Despite growing demand across the country, apartment construction began to face challenges beginning in 2018. High construction costs and a narrow pool of skilled labor are just a few of the factors hindering the development of new apartment units.

This decade's much-touted apartment boom ends with a total of 2.34 million new apartments, still below the impressive construction levels of the '70s and '80s. In the '70s, close to 3 million new apartments were built, followed by the '80s with 2.64 million units when the apartment market began a slowdown that continued in the following decade. In fact, between 1990 and 1999, apartment deliveries amounted to only 1.6 million, but started to pick up speed in the '00s, says the report.