New York City experienced a significant increase in new building filings during the fourth quarter of 2023, according to The Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY) New Building Construction Pipeline Report for Q4 2023. The report revealed that there were 728 new building filings, representing a substantial 48% rise from the historical average.
However, this surge was primarily driven by an uptick in activity for small buildings. Specifically, there were 568 filings for buildings with one to three proposed units on Staten Island – the highest number recorded in any quarter since 2008.
On the other hand, plans for large multifamily projects remained at historic lows. Only nine filings were made for buildings with over one hundred proposed units – marking four consecutive quarters with ten or fewer such submissions. Additionally, the number of proposed dwelling units was also below historical averages by approximately sixteen percent.
According to Zachary Steinberg – REBNY’s Senior Vice President of Policy – this data highlights that New York City is not constructing enough multifamily rental housing to address its worsening supply crisis. He emphasized that without policies aimed at stimulating greater rental housing development, it would be unrealistic to expect this issue will resolve itself spontaneously. As such he called upon elected officials in Albany to take action and create new housing options capable of supporting both NYC’s real estate market and broader economy.
