Dive Brief:

• Single-family production in 2014 will outpace last year’s progress, and will “rev up” in 2015, economists predicted during a Construction Forecast Webinar hosted Thursday by the National Association of Home Builders.

• “Single-family builders are feeling good,” NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe said during the webinar. “They are not overly confident, but confident enough to keep moving forward.”

• The economists pointed to continued low mortgage rates, more new households, and pent-up demand as contributors to an expected 6.6% increase in total housing starts, including multifamily, from 2013 to 2014. The economists also predicted that growing demand from renters will keep the multifamily market strong next year.

Dive Insight:

NAHB has forecast a 2.5% increase in single-family production this year, to 537,000 units. For 2015, the association is forecasting a 26% hike to 802,000 units. And for 2016, the group expects production to reach 1.1 million homes.