As Mayor de Blasio pulls out all the stops to make the case for zoning proposals critical to his affordable housing plans, the Citizens Budget Commission assessed the economics of housing construction in the city.
Rahul Jain and Michael Dardia of the New York Citizens Budget Commission this week released analysis on the cost of affordable housing in the city.
From the beginning, the report acknowledges the ongoing debate (and lack of consensus) about what kinds of housing to generate, and how, to improve the affordability of the city's housing stock. With that context in mind, the report states: "In order to assess these concerns it is necessary to understand the economics of housing construction in New York City: How much does it cost to build residential units and what level of rent is needed to generate sufficient revenue to cover those costs?"
The brief report covers three subheadings: 1) cost of construction, 2) who can afford the city's rents, and the cost required to build more affordable units. The picture that emerges from the analysis shows how astronomically expensive the city is—even in so-called "weak" markets.
FULL STORY: The Cost of Affordable Housing
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