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Dear New Yorkers,
It’s no secret that housing is one of the most critical issues facing NYC. That’s why our last three Spotlights (our monthly deep dives on economic issues facing the city) have focused on the housing market.
So far, we have mostly looked at the rental market – which makes sense, since roughly two-thirds of New York households rent their homes (the inverse of the rest of the country).
This month, we turn to homeownership. While rental affordability has worsened significantly in recent years, price escalation in the for-sale market has been even worse, placing homeownership farther beyond the reach of the average New Yorker. Meanwhile, despite New York City’s legacy of affordable cooperatives, the City currently invests very little in making homeownership more affordable.
We’re also releasing another new report today that looks into concerns about vacant, distressed units in the city’s rent stabilized housing stock. We find the problem relatively modest, as vacancies are at their lowest rate ever. And we identify targeted solutions that can be adopted in Albany this month, hopefully as part of a “grand bargain” for housing in the State budget that increases supply, better protects tenants, and provides new housing vouchers for low-income and homeless families.
Meanwhile, at the city level, along with the City Council’s Progressive Caucus, Housing Chair Pierina Sanchez, Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, and dozens of housing groups, yesterday we launched the “Homes Now, Homes for Generation” campaign to ensure the creation and preservation of units that are genuinely and permanently affordable for New York’s families.
Of course, as important as it is, not all the numbers are about housing! As usual, this edition of “New York by the Numbers” features a treasure-trove of economic information. The numbers this month continue to show moderate strength in the city’s economy (reflected in my testimony to the City Council on the Mayor’s preliminary budget proposal for FY 2025).
And that’s not all: Where else could you read about changes to the factors that bond rating agencies like Moody’s consider when they issue NYC’s bond ratings?
If it matters to the city’s finances, we’ll keep watching the numbers.
Brad Lander
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