2010 housing supply report

Housing permits dropped precipitously in 2009, by 82.1%, and were at their lowest annual level since 1995, while the number of completed housing units also decreased, by 8.8%. The City also continued to reduce its share of city-owned vacant and occupied housing units, seeing a 7.7% decline during the most recent fiscal year. The number of new units receiving 421-a tax benefits increased 2.0% in 2009, while J-51 tax abatements and exemptions decreased 41.3%. There was also a 50.8% drop in the number of units accepted in new or converted co-op and condo buildings. Rental housing availability remains tight, with a citywide vacancy rate of just 2.91%in 2008, and overcrowding remains a problem. Mayor Bloomberg's ten-year housing initiative has begun development/construction on more than 100,000 units, helping to reduce the affordable housing shortage.