NYC needs to build 700K homes in the next decade to keep up with demand, says Mamdani administration
Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s administration estimates New York City needs 700,000 new housing units over the next 10 years to meet demand, even as tens of thousands of affordable apartments sit vacant.
A draft report from the Department of Housing Preservation and Development, required under a 2023 City Council law, found an immediate need for 290,000 units to address the city’s 1.4% vacancy rate. That includes 101,000 to reach a healthier vacancy rate, 93,000 for adults living with parents or roommates who want their own homes, 53,000 for the homeless and 40,000 to reduce overcrowding.
Another 240,000 units are needed for projected household growth, while 170,000 would meet “hidden demand” from people who would stay or move to NYC if housing were more affordable.
The report blamed “decades of underproduction,” noting most neighborhoods added 240 units or fewer over 15 years.
The 700,000 goal includes 200,000 new low- and middle-income homes under Mamdani’s “Block by Block” plan, but not its goal of preserving 200,000 affordable units. The city has so far preserved 4,951 affordable units and 908 public housing units through NYCHA’s PACT program.
The report does not mention 57,000 vacant rent-stabilized apartments or more than 6,200 empty NYCHA units.
Real estate officials said the city must make construction easier, including fixing the 485-x tax incentive and addressing vacant rent-regulated apartments. Rent-stabilized vacancies rose by 8,000 in 2025.
Rent-stabilized landlords are still struggling to keep up with increased operating costs, which jumped an average of 5.3% this year, with insurance costs alone for affordable housing jumping 10.5%.
The financial strain on landlords was exacerbated in June when the Rent Guidelines Board voted to freeze the rent on the city’s affordable housing stock of roughly 1 million apartments, leaving landlords who are already strapped for cash with few options to remedy their dilapidated buildings.
In April, Mamdani announced an insurance program intended to cover 20,000 homes next year and 100,000 by 2030, but no further details have been released.
So far, the Mamdani administration has successfully preserved 4,951 affordable housing units as well as an additional 908 public housing units preserved through NYCHA’s PACT program, according to the HPD.
