The state of New York City housing received a checkup this week \u2014 with poor results.
\nA new report by the Real Estate Board of New York revealed that new apartment construction is falling far short of what the city needs to solve its housing crisis.
\nThe Big Apple is currently facing its lowest vacancy rate in more than 50 years and months of record-breaking rents.
\nMayor Eric Adams and Governor Kathy Hochul\u2019s \u201cmoonshot\u201d housing hopes are way behind schedule, according to REBNY.
\nJust a 13% slice of the city\u2019s 500,000-unit goal has been built since the start of 2024.<\/p>\n
The powerful real estate trade organization released the report as a checkup \u2014 the first of several \u2014 to assess the progress of Mayor Eric Adams and Governor Kathy Hochul\u2019s bold housing plans, the New York Times reported.
\nThe city is not on track to meet the Adams administration\u2019s 2022 \u201cmoonshot\u201d goal to build 500,000 new homes over the decade, according to REBNY.
\nJust 66,162 units have been completed since the start of 2024, the report found. That\u2019s a 13% slice of the ambitious 500,000-unit goal.
\nThe REBNY report estimated that New York City now needs to be building 13,147 units per quarter through 2034 \u2014 a roughly 39% increase in production \u2014 in order to meet that 500,000 mark by 2034. The city\u2019s current quarterly pace is closer to an average of 9,452 new units.<\/p>\n
This enormous gap between needed units and realized units can put part of the blame on long-frustrated construction timelines.
\nOn average, it takes roughly 3.4 years to build up a single apartment building in New York City, according to the trade group. That number stretches to four years in Manhattan.
\nBasha Gerhards, REBNY\u2019s executive vice president of public policy, told the Times that a range factors contribute to the lackluster building results.
\nThere are the usual suspects, like bureaucratic red tape and restrictive zoning laws, that hamstring developers. The report pointed out that pre-development periods, or the waiting period between finalizing construction plans and receiving proper permits, can leave apartment buildings waiting in the wings for more than five years.
\nMore than 47,100 units are in this pre-development purgatory, according to REBNY. Requirements for safety and energy efficiency can shift in the meantime, further altering plans.
\nGerhards also pointed to new burdens on developers, like high interest rates and the residual economic pains of COVID-19 shutdowns.<\/p>\n
Planned office-to-residential conversions, like 5 Times Square, are among the radical solutions to the city\u2019s housing supply woes.
\nThe next administration plans to push for more construction of more subsidized units.
\nBoth sides of the aisle appear to agree that New Yorkers need more housing, but partisan approaches vary, from deregulation to removing zoning limits.
\nAdams made housing a key pillar of his brief administration, notably passing sweeping zoning reforms through the City of Yes that cleared the way for an estimated 130,000 potential new apartments.
\nContinued construction is a stated goal of the Mayor-elect, Zohran Mamdani, who has promised to build 200,000 subsidized homes over the next 10 years.<\/p>\n
Regardless of who is in charge, the city\u2019s builders certainly have their work cut out for them. The Times cited recent surveys that estimated the metro region\u2019s housing shortage total between 355,000 and 540,000 units.
\nThe city needs to address the challenges in construction and come up with effective solutions to meet the housing demands.
\nWith the current pace of construction, it is unlikely that the city will meet its goal of building 500,000 new homes by 2034.
\nIt is essential for the city to take a closer look at the factors contributing to the lackluster building results and work towards finding a solution to the housing crisis.<\/p>\n
Q: What is the current state of New York City’s housing market?
\nA: The city is facing its lowest vacancy rate in more than 50 years and months of record-breaking rents.
\nQ: What is the goal of Mayor Eric Adams and Governor Kathy Hochul\u2019s \u201cmoonshot\u201d housing plan?
\nA: The goal is to build 500,000 new homes over the decade.
\nQ: How many units have been completed since the start of 2024?
\nA: Just 66,162 units have been completed, which is a 13% slice of the ambitious 500,000-unit goal.
\nQ: What are the challenges in construction that are contributing to the lackluster building results?
\nA: The challenges include bureaucratic red tape, restrictive zoning laws, pre-development periods, high interest rates, and the residual economic pains of COVID-19 shutdowns.
\nQ: What are the planned solutions to the city\u2019s housing supply woes?
\nA: Planned office-to-residential conversions, like 5 Times Square, are among the radical solutions, and the next administration plans to push for more construction of more subsidized units.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Introduction to NYC Housing Crisis The state of New York City housing received a checkup this week \u2014 with poor results. A new report by the Real Estate Board of New York revealed that new apartment construction is falling far short of what the city needs to solve its housing crisis. The Big Apple is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":26891,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-26889","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-real-estate"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i3.wp.com\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/12\/117797403.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1200&w=1200&resize=1200,799&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26889"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26889"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26889\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26892,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26889\/revisions\/26892"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26891"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26889"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26889"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26889"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}