Construction delays caused by the Covid-19 pandemic have reduced growth across the sector, according to an analysis by Moody's Analytics.

Prior to the outbreak of Covid-19, Moody’s Analytics expected over 300,000 units to be built for the multi-family market in 2020. However, construction delays have reduced the 2020 figure for supply growth by -21%, to just slightly under 246,000 units, Kallanish reports.

The top five metropolitan areas with reductions in new construction in 2020 are Rochester, New York (-81.3%), Norfolk, Virginia (-68.9%), Buffalo, New York (67.2%), Westchester, New York (-60.6%), and New York City, New York (-58.1%). Rochester, Norfolk, and Buffalo each expect less than 150 apartment units to be built in 2020, post-Covid-19 adjustments. Meanwhile, Westchester expects less than 1,300 units, down from a forecast of over 3,200 units to be built in 2020 prior to Covid-19. New York City was expecting close to 13,500 units to be built this year, but this figure has been reduced to just slightly over 5,600 units.

In contrast to the residential sector, the office sector has not registered as many confirmed delays. Projected construction figures at the national level for 2020 were reduced by -6.3% from pre-pandemic estimates, from 50.8 million square feet to 47.8m square feet.

Retail construction forecasts for 2020 have been reduced by -15.7% between pre-pandemic estimates and the current estimate, and construction forecasts for 2020 in the industrial sector have declined by -24.4%.