This report presents data on how soon privately financed, nonsubsidized, unfurnished units in buildings with five or more units were rented (absorbed) in the first quarter of 2017 for units that were completed in the fourth quarter 2016. The data are based on information collected in the Survey of Market Absorption of Multifamily Units (SOMA), which has been measuring market absorption for over forty years. 

The SOMA is conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Department of Commerce, for the Department of Housing and Urban Development.  The sample consists of approximately 1,100 buildings with five or more housing units.  As with all surveys, estimates vary from actual values because of sampling variations or other factors.