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New York City builds the most apartments in a single year since 1965

New York City builds the most apartments in a single year since 1965

Built World

The city set a 60-year building record in 2025, then hit turbulence: a new mayor, a key policy loophole, and $22 billion in fresh ambitions

May 26th, 2026: Mamdani releases Block by Block housing plan

Overview

New York City finished 38,682 apartments in 2025, the most in a single year since 1965, driven by the City of Yes zoning rewrite and the 485-x rental tax break. The record has since run into complications: permit approvals fell nearly 28 percent in 2025 as tariffs and 485-x's wage rules pushed up costs, and developers began filing permits for buildings of exactly 99 units to avoid the program's higher wage threshold.

In January 2026, Eric Adams left office and Zohran Mamdani was sworn in as mayor. Dan Garodnick, who shepherded City of Yes through, resigned from City Planning eight days into the new administration. In May 2026, Mamdani released 'Block by Block,' a $22 billion plan targeting 200,000 new affordable homes over a decade — about four times what City of Yes was projected to deliver.

Why it matters

New York added nearly 39,000 apartments last year, its most since 1965, testing whether zoning reform can dent a 400,000-unit shortage.

Questions about this story

0

can you list the number of appartments build year of the last 10 years

NYC completed between roughly 20,000 and 38,682 apartments annually over the last decade, with 2025's 38,682 units the highest since 1965 and a clear upward surge since 2022.

Why it matters: The trend shows a decade of moderate output followed by a sharp climb, driven first by a 421-a permit rush in 2015, then a lull, then record highs after new tax breaks and rezoning in 2024.

  • 2016–2017: exceeded 20,000 units both years — a delayed wave from a 2015 rush to lock in 421-a tax benefits before changes took effect
  • 2018: ~28,600 units completed (2019 was reported as a 14.2% drop from 2018)
  • 2019: 24,566 units, with more than half in six sub-borough areas of Manhattan, Queens, and Brooklyn
  • 2022: ~26,000 units; 2023: ~28,600 (9.8% increase year-over-year)
  • 2024: ~33,859–34,049 units — largest single-year total since at least 2010 at that point
  • 2025: 38,682 units — the 60-year high, driven by the new 485-x tax break and City of Yes zoning rewrite
  • Note: verified figures for 2020 and 2021 were not available in sources reviewed — those years likely dipped due to COVID construction slowdowns
Sources
NYC DCP press release (March 2025) OSC Housing Production Report 24-2025 NYU Furman Center – 2019 housing stock data Arcfe – NYC Leading US in Apartment Construction CRE Daily – NYC Apartment Construction 60-Year High
Room for disagreement
  • The OSC report cites 34,049 completions in 2024 while the arcfe.com source cites 33,859 — a minor discrepancy likely reflecting different counting methodologies (certificate of occupancy dates vs. DCP database cut-offs).
AI-generated with web search — may be wrong. Check the linked sources.
Play on this story Voices Debate Predict Higher or Lower

Key Indicators

38,682
Apartments completed in 2025
The highest single-year total for New York City since 1965.
33,859
Apartments completed in 2024
The second straight year completions topped 30,000 units.
~400,000
Estimated housing shortfall
The gap Zillow and Ariel Property Advisors say the city still needs to fill.
28,773
Units proposed in Q1 2026
More than double the 14,338 quarterly average from 2025, per New York YIMBY.
-28%
Permit approvals in 2025
New building permits fell nearly 28 percent year over year as tariffs and 485-x costs bit.

Voices

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Higher or Lower Two numbers from this story. Guess which is bigger. 5 rounds to set a streak. Log in to play
Timeline Five events from this story — drag them oldest to newest. Log in to play
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People Involved

Eric Adams
Eric Adams
Left office January 1, 2026, succeeded by Zohran Mamdani
 Dan Garodnick
Dan Garodnick
Resigned January 2026, eight days into Mamdani administration
 Kathy Hochul
Kathy Hochul
Backed the state-level pieces of the housing push
 Shimon Shkury
Shimon Shkury
Analyzing whether the pace can hold
 Zohran Kwame Mamdani
Zohran Kwame Mamdani
Took office January 1, 2026
 Sideya Sherman
Sideya Sherman
Appointed February 2026

Organizations Involved

New York City Department of City Planning
New York City Department of City Planning
Municipal Agency
Now led by Sideya Sherman under Mayor Mamdani; continuing housing production work under Block by Block plan

The city agency that writes zoning rules and tracks how much housing gets built.
Real Estate Board of New York
Real Estate Board of New York
Industry Association
Tracking the construction pipeline

The main trade group for New York developers and landlords.

Timeline

June 2022 May 2026

10 events Latest: May 26th, 2026 · 1 month ago
Tap a bar to jump to that date

  1. Mamdani releases Block by Block housing plan

    Latest Policy

    Mayor Mamdani unveiled a $22 billion, 10-year housing blueprint targeting 200,000 new affordable homes and preservation of another 200,000. The plan pairs rezonings near transit corridors with a Construction Justice Act setting a $40 minimum hourly wage on city-financed projects.

  2. 99-unit loophole draws scrutiny

    Policy

    The CITY reported that developers had filed permits for 120-plus buildings with exactly 99 apartments since April 2024, a deliberate strategy to avoid the 485-x wage threshold that kicks in at 100 units.

  3. Pipeline stays strong into 2026

    Data

    Developers propose 16,815 units across 281 buildings in the first quarter, with 43,000 units under construction citywide.

  4. Sideya Sherman appointed City Planning director

    Personnel

    Mamdani named Sideya Sherman, formerly the city's chief equity officer, to lead the Department of City Planning. Sherman was tasked with continuing housing production efforts under the new administration.

  5. Dan Garodnick resigns from City Planning

    Personnel

    Garodnick stepped down as director of the Department of City Planning eight days into Mamdani's term, reportedly after not receiving a deputy mayor appointment in the new administration.

  6. Adams leaves office; Mamdani sworn in as mayor

    Political

    Eric Adams' single term ended. Zohran Mamdani took office as the new mayor, inheriting the City of Yes reforms and the record 2025 construction count.

  7. City reports most apartments built since 1965

    Milestone

    New York's planning department reports 38,682 completed apartments in 2025, the highest single-year total in 60 years.

  8. City Council adopts City of Yes

    Legislation

    The council passes the citywide zoning rewrite, projected to enable 82,000 homes over 15 years, paired with a $5 billion funding pledge.

  9. State creates 485-x replacement

    Policy

    The state budget establishes 485-x, a new tax break for rental housing, with construction-wage requirements built in.

  10. 421-a tax break expires

    Policy

    New York's main tax incentive for rental housing lapses, and developers warn new rental construction will stall without a replacement.

Historical Context

3 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.

1961–1965

New York's 1961 zoning overhaul and mid-1960s building rush (1961–1965)

New York rewrote its zoning code in 1961, cutting how much developers could build on many lots. Builders rushed to break ground before the new limits fully applied. Completions peaked around 1965, the record that stood until 2025.

Then

A wave of apartment towers finished in the mid-1960s, then construction fell sharply as the tighter rules took hold.

Now

The 1961 code shaped New York's skyline and density for decades and is often blamed for constraining later housing supply.

Why this matters now

The 1965 peak is the exact benchmark the 2025 total just matched. The earlier surge came from restriction; this one comes from loosening the rules.

December 2018–2019

Minneapolis ends single-family-only zoning (2019)

Minneapolis became the first major U.S. city to abolish zoning that allowed only single-family homes on most residential land. The plan let two- and three-unit buildings rise citywide. Permits for multi-unit housing climbed in the years after.

Then

Multifamily permits rose and construction picked up in previously restricted neighborhoods.

Now

Studies credited the change, alongside broader building, with holding rents nearly flat while other cities saw sharp increases.

Why this matters now

It is the clearest U.S. test of the idea behind City of Yes: allow more housing everywhere, not just in a few zones, and supply responds.

2000s–2010s

Tokyo's permissive national zoning keeps rents flat (2000s–2010s)

Japan sets zoning at the national level with broad building rights, so Tokyo added hundreds of thousands of housing units a year through the 2000s and 2010s. Supply kept up with demand in a metro of over 13 million.

Then

Tokyo consistently permitted far more homes per capita than New York, London, or San Francisco.

Now

Rents in Tokyo stayed roughly flat for two decades even as population grew, a rare outcome among global cities.

Why this matters now

Tokyo is the model advocates cite for what sustained high output looks like. New York's 2025 record is one strong year; the question is whether it can string together many.

Sources

(18)
+12
HumanProgress Commercial Observer CRE Daily NYC Mayor's Office Office of Governor Kathy Hochul The Architect's Newspaper Rosenberg & Estis, P.C. The Real Deal New York YIMBY The CITY Commercial Observer Commercial Observer CRE Daily NYC Mayor's Office The Real Deal The Real Deal The Real Deal Commercial Observer