Report: NYC Housing Pipeline Goes from Bad to Worse

Third straight month with fewer than 30 total filings citywide

Second straight month with just 1 filing for a building with 100+ units

And yet – State Legislature recently proposed one-house budget bills that failed to include key proposals for increasing NYC housing production

NEW YORK, NY– The Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY) today released its February 2023 Multi-family Foundation Plan Application Report. This monthly 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.

According to the report, there were 22 new multi-family foundation filings in February 2023, representing a total of 432 proposed dwelling units. This marks the third straight month of fewer than 30 filings citywide. By comparison, there was an average of approximately 73 filings per month during the first half of 2022.

For the second straight month, there was only one filing for a new building with more than 100 residential dwelling units. That one filing – 134-55 45th Road in Long Island City—accounts for nearly 30% of all proposed new units from February filings.

As the housing pipeline continues to struggle, New York City also continues to face a worsening housing supply crisis. Experts have noted that the City needs 560,000 new apartments by 2030 just to keep pace with projected growth.

Even as this crisis gets even worse, the State Legislature notably did not take any substantive steps to increase New York City housing production in its recently introduced one-house budget bills. In fact, the Legislature failed to include a number of Governor Hochul’s housing proposals, such as proposals to lift the 12 FAR cap or extend the completion deadline for 421-a projects.

“This data shows just how much worse the City’s housing crisis will become if we continue on the path laid out by the State Legislature’s one-house budget bills,” said REBNY Senior Vice President of Policy Zachary Steinberg. “If the State budget fails to include sensible housing policies, New Yorkers should not expect these dire housing production numbers to improve.”

The full February 2023 Multi-family Foundation Plan Application Report, including additional analysis on foundation applications broken out by building size and geography, can be downloaded here.

REBNY’s monthly Multi-family Foundation Plan Application Report supplements the trade association’s quarterly Construction Pipeline Report, which tracks new building job filings for all new projects (office, retail, hospitality and multi-family). These job filings typically occur well before any substantive development work has started and many additional steps such as financing, plan review and amendments will still need to occur. By providing additional perspective on how many multi-family projects have filed foundation applications, the monthly report report provides a more substantial projection for housing production.

For more information about REBNY research reports, visit //go.rebny.com/Reports.

# # #

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:

Chris Santarelli

csantarelli@rebny.com

(212) 616-5249