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NYC apartment filings plunge 52% as developers shift to smaller projects
Between April and June, developers filed plans for 8,064 units across 172 new apartment buildings, far below the 17,500-unit pace the city says is needed to ease the housing crisis.
New York City is falling behind on its housing development goals, with a sharp drop in new apartment construction filings that suggests developers are struggling to sustain output, according to a report from the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY), cited by Bisnow. REBNY said developers filed plans for 172 new apartment buildings between April and June, totaling 8,064 units, a 52% decline versus the first quarter. That level is also less than half of the 17,500-unit pace the city says is needed to mitigate the housing crisis. The decline reflects dwindling sites tied to the now-expired 421-a tax break, as REBNY’s quarterly report on construction filings indicates. REBNY also pointed to a shift toward smaller projects, with just nine of the 172 proposed buildings expected to include 100 or more apartments, while 153 projects would add 99 units or fewer. Developers proposed 9.2 million square feet of new buildings in Q2, 56% below Q1 totals, and 89% of that square footage was for multifamily developments. Bisnow reported that developers have been pivoting for nearly two years since New York introduced higher construction wage requirements for major projects under the 485-x replacement for 421-a, while the city’s administration has said New York needs 700,000 new homes within a decade. REBNY warned the latest drop is a sign that incentives and conditions for housing production have not yet been created, as median rents in Manhattan have continued to rise above $5,000 a month.