New Report: NYC Builders Sought Initial Building Approvals for Under 10,000 Units in 2023

City’s Housing Production in 2023 Fell to 50% of 20-Year Average and Hit Just 20% of State and City Leader’s Goal for Addressing Worsening Housing Crisis

NEW YORK, NY– The Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY) today released its December 2023 Multi-Family Foundation Plan Application Report. This report reviews applications for residential building foundations submitted by developers to the NYC Department of Buildings (DOB), providing a helpful indicator for upcoming housing production.

There were 25 filings for project foundations in New York City in December, according to the report. That was a slight increase over the 19 filings in November but it was well below the 2022 monthly average of 52 filings.

The 25 filings in December accounted for 506 proposed dwelling units. There was a total of 9,909 dwelling units proposed in 2023.

The number of units proposed in 2023 is just half of the approximately 20,000 units per year that New York City produced between 2000 and 2020. It is also just 20% of the 50,000 units per year target set by State and City leaders to address New York City’s housing supply crisis.

These results continue the trend of persistently low application filings that began in June 2022 following the expiration of 421a.

There was only one filing in December for a new building with more than 100 residential dwelling units. This residential, supportive housing project at 3663 White Plains Road in East Bronx accounted for 136 proposed units, or 27% of all units proposed for the month. New York City finished 2023 with 28 filings for buildings of 100 or more, which is also a 78% decline from 129 in 2022.

Download the full report here.

“Without support for new development incentives, New York City finished 2023 well behind its yearly goals for new rental housing,” said REBNY Senior Vice President of Policy Zachary Steinberg. “Hopefully this is the year that State lawmakers take steps to reverse this trend with sensible, data-driven housing policies.”

Tracking foundation projects supplements REBNY’s quarterly Construction Pipeline Report, which examines new building job application filings submitted to DOB. Since this report tracks multi-family foundation filings rather than new building filings, it provides an additional perspective on the overall state of housing development activity. New building filings generally precede foundation filings by a period of at least several months, or possibly longer if the project is not able to proceed to the construction phase.

For more information about REBNY research reports, visit https://www.rebny.com/research-and-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 visitwww.rebny.com.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Chris Santarelli

csantarelli@rebny.com

(212) 616-5249