NYC Multifamily Building Permits Jump 65% in Q1: REBNY

Brooklyn is just swimming in new housing proposals. 

The number of multifamily housing construction permits across New York City rose in the first quarter of 2025, with the highest concentration in Brooklyn, according to the latest research from the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY). However, total building filings lagged slightly compared to the last quarter of 2024, while the size of projects has shrunk, coming in at less than 10 million square feet for the ninth consecutive quarter.

There were 6,871 proposed multifamily units across 123 buildings for the first quarter — a 65 percent increase from the fourth quarter of 2024, according to REBNY’s New Building Construction Pipeline report, which examines the filings for new building job applications. That figure is 58 percent higher than the overall average units proposed since 2008.

King’s Country reigned supreme, with Brooklyn seeing permits for 3,080 units across 44 buildings, the REBNY data showed. The Bronx had 2,358 proposed units, Queens had 1,049, Manhattan had 384 and Staten Island had zero proposed multifamily units. 

A significant portion of these multifamily proposals was concentrated in buildings with less than 100 units. REBNY noted the shifts in tax and land use policies that have impacted residential development as a possible cause for the smaller building sizes. 

In early 2024, New York State lawmakers passed the 485x tax abatement to combat New York’s housing crisis and replace the expired 421a incentive. The law, known simply as 485x, offers significant tax benefits for the development of affordable, multifamily housing. However, buildings with 100 or more units are subject to hefty construction wage requirements, so developers have been targeting projects with 99 or fewer units.

Some 77 of the 123 proposed new buildings had less than 50 units, while 35 buildings had between 50 and 99 units, REBNY found. 

All told, new construction activity for all asset classes across the city increased year-over-year by 15 percent to 332 new building filings, although it did drop by 9 percent from the fourth quarter of 2024, according to REBNY. The total square footage of proposed construction projects for the first quarter of 2025 was 8 million, a 26 percent rise from the first quarter of 2024.

However, the total square footage for this year’s first quarter is 36 percent lower than the historic average since 2008.

“New development activity ticked up in Q1 2025, providing an important boost to the city’s housing pipeline and overall economy,” Zachary Steinberg, REBNY’s senior vice president of policy, said in a statement. “In the face of rising costs and policy uncertainty, it will be critical that state and city policymakers do more to help the housing market continue to rebound in the months and years ahead.”  

Update: This story has been updated to reflect that multiple dwellings were 58 percent higher than the overall average in units since 2008.

Amanda Schiavo can be reached at aschiavo@commercialobserver.com.