Residential property construction permits New York City

Number of new residential property construction permits in New York City is at close to the lowest level since the 1960s according to the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY).  In the last decade 2000-2009, there were 231,228 residential housing permits issued.  The estimate for 2010-2019 is only 78,315 permits or slightly higher than the worst decade of the 1990s when about 70,000 permits were issued.


According to Michael Slattery of REBNY, key reasons are high construction costs and elimination of tax breaks.  While housing supply is limited, New York City's population continues to grow and this is resulting in higher rents and lower vacancy rates.

Even if property building permits pick up, supply is still behind demand from the city's population which is expected to hit 8 million.

REBNY: Construction permits by decade

Decade	Total Housing Units
1960s	368,700
1970s	171,344
1980s	115,191
1990s	70,204
2000s	231,288
2010s*	78,315
* Decade Estimate based on annual average for 2010-2011