What's in the pipeline of multifamily housing? RealPage Market Analytics reported that the seasonally adjusted annual rates for multifamily permitting and starts each declined month-over-month and year-over-year as of June of this year. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the June permitting rate slowed 13.5%, from May to 467,000 units, which was a significant 33.1% drop from a year ago June.

This continues a trend since starts were lower than initially reported in May, revised down from 624,000 to 545,000 units, a minus of 14.5%. June's numbers of 482,000 dropped 11.6% below May's revised rate and 11.3% from a year ago in June.

Another sign that starts are overestimated, the report said, is an absence of a typical gap between permits and starts in recent months. Historically, there usually are about 56,000 more units permitted than started when comparing rates monthly. And one concern is that permits could slow faster than starts. All sorts of reasons account for why permits, which authorize construction to start, don't become starts, when the excavation actually begins,  according to NAHB..