New Report: New York City on Pace to Meet Just 20% of Annual Housing Production Target in 2023

Builders Filed Foundation Permits for Approximately 6,500 New Units During First 8 Months of 2023, Putting City on Pace to Produce Only 10,000 New Units This Year

Mayor Adams and Housing Experts Have Called for at Least 500,000 New Units Over the Next Decade – or 50,000 Annually – Amid Rapidly Worsening Housing Shortage

NEW YORK, NY– The Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY) today released its latest Multi-Family Foundation Plan Application Report, providing an analysis of residential foundation filings submitted to the NYC Department of Buildings (DOB) through August 2023. Foundation filings are a good indicator of new units entering development as foundation work is among the first types of work for a construction project and an application for a foundation permit therefore indicates a project is likely to begin construction.

The report highlights an ongoing decline in desperately needed housing production in New York City, as the City’s widely acknowledged housing shortage continues to worsen in the absence of policies by the State Legislature to help address the supply crisis.

View the full report here.

New York City is seeing an alarmingly low number of residential foundation permits in 2023, with only 201 plan applications representing 6,542 units filed in the first eight months of 2023. This puts the City on pace to reach just under 10,000 units in multifamily projects begun by year end.

Building less than 10,000 units this year puts New York far behind its 500,000-unit goal for the next decade. To reach that goal, the City would need to be on pace to create 50,000 units of housing a year. For context, according to an NYU Furman Center report and a City Planning report, there were about 200,000 units built in the City during the 2000s and 2010s, which equates to roughly 20,000 units per year.

"As we spiral deeper into this housing crisis, legislators continue to engage in the great failed experiment: what happens when you remove all incentives to create new rental housing?" said Zachary Steinberg, REBNY Senior Vice President of Policy. “This report continues to show that the current approach to this problem is not working. Policymakers must quickly correct course before this gets worse.”

The monthly Multi-Family Foundation Plan Application Report complements REBNY's quarterly Construction Pipeline Report, offering a more nuanced view of projects that may soon commence construction. For more information about REBNY research reports, please visit //go.rebny.com/Reports.

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ABOUT THE REAL ESTATE BOARD OF NEW YORK

The Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY) is the City’s leading real estate trade association. Founded in 1896, REBNY represents commercial, residential, and institutional property owners, builders, managers, investors, brokers, and salespeople; banks, financial service companies, utilities, attorneys, architects, and contractors; corporations, co-partnerships, and individuals professionally interested in New York City real estate. REBNY conducts research on various civic matters including tax policy, city planning and zoning, rental conditions, land use policy, building codes, and other city, state, and federal legislation. REBNY regularly publishes market data, policy reports, and broker surveys. In addition, REBNY provides for its members: informational, technical, and technological resources; networking and charitable service opportunities; qualifying and continuing education courses; professional education programs, seminars, and designations; career-changing awards; legal advice; and a wide range of additional member benefits. For more information, please visit www.rebny.com.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Erin Garrett

egarrett@rebny.com

(212) 616-5248