New York City Built 33,974 Homes in 2024, Setting a Record

By Ethan Marshall, QNS

Approximately 33,974 new homes were built in new buildings across New York City in 2024, according to a new report from the New York City Department of City Planning.

This number, announced by City Planning Director Dan Garodnick and detailed in the report NYC Housing Production Snapshot 2024, marked the highest amount of completed units in a single year in New York City since 1965. One of the main contributing factors to the large number was the high volume of building permits submitted right before the expiration of the previous 421-a tax abatement program, which ended on June 15, 2022. Many of those projects that were approved wrapped up construction in 2024.

Brooklyn had the most completed units among the five boroughs, with 13,732. Queens was a distant second, with 8,061 completed units, followed by the Bronx at 6,526, Manhattan with 4,841, and Staten Island building 814.

While Brooklyn had the most units completed among the boroughs, Long Island City-Hunters Point in Queens had the most units completed among all New York City neighborhoods, at 1,859. Two projects in Hunter’s Point South factored into the vast majority of these completed units, accounting for 1,386 of the 1,859 in the neighborhood.

Greenpoint, where skyscrapers have been rising along the East River, came in at No. 2 in the city for completed homes in 2024, accounting for 1,464 units, the interactive map in the report shows. Other busy pockets of construction in Brooklyn included Downtown Brooklyn-Dumbo-Boerum Hill with 1,233 units completed, Coney Island-Seagate with 841, Bedford Stuyvesant East and West combined accounting for 836, East Williamsburg at 785, Williamsburg with 719, and East New York North showing 672 newly built units.

Despite the highest number of completed homes in New York City in nearly 50 years, the number of new projects to receive permits in 2024 decreased to 15,626 from 16,428 in 2023. This marked the lowest number since 2016. While 80 percent to 90 percent of permitted jobs are usually completed in less than four years, limits on the construction sector capacity and high interest rates could lead to many projects taking longer.

The highest number of permitted units were in Brooklyn, at 6,592. Queens and the Bronx were neck and neck with each other, at 3,240 and 3,125, respectively. Manhattan had 2,347 permitted units and Staten Island had 328.

The Spring Creek-Starrett City area in Brooklyn — a section within East New York — accounted for the highest number of units in permitted projects among New York City neighborhoods in 2024, with 1,664 future homes. Two planned developments on Inspiration Lane make up 846 of them. Two other neighborhoods leading in units permitted in 2024 include Sunset Park with 536 and Carroll Gardens-Cobble Hill-Gowanus-Red Hook with 428.

One trend that did continue was the pre-existing geographic disparities in housing production across the city’s 59 community districts. Ten community districts in New York City permitted as much housing as the other 49 combined. Fewer than 100 homes were permitted in 19 of the community districts. Even with the historic high in completed homes, 13 community districts saw fewer than 200 homes completed.

Mayor Adams’ rezoning plan “City of Yes for Housing Opportunity,” which passed in December 2024, was designed to help the city change these trends and bring housing growth across New York City, according to its proponents. The Department of City Planning estimates the zoning revamp, which includes investing $5 billion in infrastructure, could create an estimated 80,000 new homes in the city over 15 years.

“2024 was a banner year for housing production in New York, but we can’t rest on our laurels. That’s why the historic passage of City of Yes was so important and why we’ll keep working to deliver the housing that New Yorkers need,” Garodnick said in a press release about the construction numbers. “This updated, detailed data illustrates the progress we are making towards accomplishing our housing goals and the work that remains to build a fairer, more affordable city.”

— Additional reporting by Cate Corcoran

Editor’s note: A version of this story originally ran in QNS. Click here to see the original story.

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