The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta’s Policy Hub recently published a report that examines how long it takes to get approval to build new apartment buildings, compared to how long it takes to actually build them. They found that getting approval takes three to four months longer than the construction itself, on average. The report used data from Dodge Construction Network’s SupplyTrack database, which covers 80 percent of construction projects in the U.S. and Canada. It also highlights differences in approval times across different regions of the U.S., with the Northeast and West having longer approval times compared to the South and Midwest, mainly due to different local rules for building. The report also notes that both public and private projects generally take about the same amount of time to get approval. It found that it takes longer to get approval to convert buildings into apartments than it does to build new ones. Finally, the report suggests ways to speed up the approval process, such as making it easier to get approval and making sure that funding for converting buildings is carefully planned. It also recommends changing some local building rules.