With all of the multifamily construction projects taking place serving as an indicator of just where the housing market is heading, for the first time since the recession, nationwide housing starts have bumped past the million-unit mark.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau report that in total, production was up 15.7% month-over-month and up 21.7% over this same time last year.

Translation, the seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts hit 1.09 million units in July and it's due entirely to the 39.6% increase we've seen in multifamily starts.

Experts agree that single-family home builders are still hesitant to push for new construction expansions due to the fear that a lack of available credit and potential economic uncertainty will hinder would-be buyers from purchasing. These same experts also agree that because of this sentiment, demands for new apartment construction continue to grow.

While single-family housing starts saw a minimal increase of only 0.8% or a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 649,000 units, multifamily is on pace to surpass even pre-recession production with an increase of 39.6% or an adjusted annual production of 423,000 units.

Economists are encouraged by the growth in multifamily because they see the current demand for new units as a sign that more young adults are branching out and forming their own households, a trend which will one day help to boost the demand for future homeownership.

National statistics show that this growth isn't focused on any one part of the country and instead has posted gains in all four national regions. The South has seen a 1.5% gain in construction starts, the West has seen an 11.1% increase, the Northeast has had a 28.7% gain, and the region with the biggest growth is the Midwest with a 42.1% increase in production.

Looking into the future, we continue to see building permit activity on the rise with an increase of 8% this year for a total of 1.08 million units and the biggest factor for the gain is a 21.8% increase in multifamily permits.

How has this surge in construction starts affected your local multifamily market? Are all these new apartment projects a good thing or too much too quick? Maybe you have a construction project in the works? We'd love to hear your thoughts!