January Multi-Family Foundation Report Shows Anemic Outlook for New NYC Housing Development Amid Supply Crisis

January Multi-Family Foundation Report Shows Anemic Outlook for New NYC Housing Development Amid Supply Crisis

Report shows only 26 new multi-family foundation filings in January, including only one filing for a new project with more than 100 units, continuing trend from 2H 2022

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

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According to the report, there were 26 new multi-family foundation filings in New York City in January 2023. This was a slight increase over the December 2022 total of 22 but still far behind the pace needed to address the City’s housing supply crisis.

The report also showed that January’s foundation filings represented a total of 576 units. Of the 26 total filings, only one was for a large project that includes more than 100 units, which was a further decline below the four large project filings in December.

The report showed that the first month of 2023 has continued the slow pace of activity seen during the second half of 2022. While there were 441 filings in the first six months of 2022, there were just 186 in the second half of the year following the expiration of 421-a. With 560,000 new housing units needed by 2030, this report highlights the significant housing supply challenges facing New York City.

The full report can be downloaded here.

The new report supplements REBNY’s longstanding 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, this latest report provides a more substantial projection for housing production.

"Governor Hochul has rightly set an ambitious goal of creating 800,000 new homes and this report is yet more evidence that we are far behind realizing this target," said REBNY Senior Vice President of Policy Zachary Steinberg. "It is time for the State Legislature to step up with policy changes that will accomplish this task or the housing crisis will only continue to deepen."

The report released today includes additional analysis on foundation applications broken out by building size and geography. REBNY will continue monitor foundation filings to provide a better understanding of development activity.

For more information about REBNY research reports, 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.