Multifamily permits surge in New York
The number of New York City building permits filed for residential multifamily housing rose sharply during the third quarter, the Real Estate Board of New York said in a report this week.
The figures are noteworthy because the nation's largest city is facing a severe housing shortage, and Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani said he aims to build 200,000 affordable housing units over the next decade.
Developers filed 207 multifamily building permits, up 31% from the second quarter and 152% year-over-year, the board said in the report released on Wednesday.
The 207, a mixture of rental and owner-occupied properties, will add 11,746 housing units to the city, a 69% increase from the second quarter, according to the board. In the third quarter, developers filed 507 permits across all building types, up 20% from the second quarter.
The report also showed a rise in the number of upcoming multifamily properties featuring 50 to 99 units.
“It’s critical that policymakers and other advocates do not become complacent in response to the quarter’s housing production totals,” Zachary Steinberg, the board’s external relations and advocacy executive vice president, said in a statement. “The strong results come following a decade-plus of underproduction that needs to be addressed, and it can’t be done 99 units at a time.”
The 48s-x wage mandate for projects with 150-plus units in certain geographic areas is driving up costs and is the reason why the city is seeing fewer large projects, a board representative told Homes.com.
Flood insurance program returns
Homeowners and buyers shut out of flood insurance during the 43-day government shutdown will be able to get it again now that President Donald Trump signed a spending package to end the stalemate.
The shutdown prevented consumers from buying new flood policies and renewing existing ones, postponing sales and causing concern during hurricane season.
In a statement this week, National Association of Home Builders Chairman Buddy Hughes said extending the program as part of a government reopening would "provide certainty, predictability and peace of mind to policyholders who rely on the NFIP for flood protection and mitigation strategies.”