Q1 2026 New Building Construction Pipeline Report

In Q1 2026 there were 577 new building filings, reflecting a 13% increase from Q4 2025 when there were 511 filings. This represents a 74% increase year over year from Q1 2025.

The number of filings in Q1 2026 is 2% above the historical average since 2008.

Scale of the Filings

The total proposed construction square footage in Q1 2026 was 21.2 million, an 11% increase from Q4 2025 and a 165% increase from Q1 2025. The figure was also 68% above the historical average since 2008. This is the third quarter in a row where the total proposed construction square footage has been over 10 million square feet, after nearly three years of minimal activity at that scale. Multi-family developments accounted for 73%, or 15.5 million square feet, of the quarterly total.

The recent rebound should be viewed in the context of the expiration of the 421-a tax incentive program. On a rolling four-quarter basis, proposed construction square footage rose by 35.3 million square feet, or 92%, in the year leading into the 2022 expiration, then fell by 40.2 million square feet, or 55%, in the year after — a much sharper “yo-yo” effect than the prior 421a cycle.