Today’s bustling economy is driving strong demand for multifamily housing. While apartment construction lags the 328,000 apartment units the NMHC estimates the nation will need annually through 2030, there are other signs that supply may finally be catching up.

Last year, 364,713 units were completed in the 150 largest U.S. metros, the highest level in 30 years, according to data analytics firm RealPage. But even as the pace of production accelerates, labor remains scarce.
“A contractor’s greatest challenge is finding good, qualified employees,” says Marc Padgett, Summit Contracting Group president, CEO, and owner. In these market conditions, as this year’s NMHC top builder rankings suggest, well-established contractors may be the best positioned to meet growing demand and labor needs, by leveraging their experience and broad relationship networks.

Summit claims the top builder spot this year, with 6,053 units started in 2017, marking a move up from the No. 2 spot and 5,154 units started in 2016. Padgett attributes the company’s success to strong employee retention and trusted relationships with vendors and subcontractors. “These two things, combined with substantial buying power, allow us to provide our clients with projects that can be built within their budgets and on time, even in an industry environment that makes it much more difficult to do so,” he says. Indeed, Summit reports an almost 100% repeat business rate.

Oden Hughes, the No. 2 builder in the 2018 rankings, jumped literally from the bottom of last year’s group (referred to in 2017as the top general contractors) as a result of geographical and product diversification. The firm opened its first office in the Dallas–Fort Worth MSA late last year and started three third-party multifamily projects there. The company also landed its first third-party student housing project in 2017, with three such developments now underway in central Texas.

“These milestones mark our entry into two new important markets that will allow us to expand our opportunities but still leverage our extensive experience and knowledge that comes from having built multifamily projects in major Texas markets for decades,” says Eric Taylor, president of Oden Hughes’ construction division.