Exodus over? NYC expected to turn corner in April

Report says influx of people to city will outpace those who are leaving

The number of temporary and permanent change of address requests for leaving the city totaled 832,388 in 2020. (iStock)
The number of temporary and permanent change of address requests for leaving the city totaled 832,388 in 2020. (iStock)

An exodus of New Yorkers to pieds-à-terre, new suburban homes or in some cases, South Florida, may finally be over.

By April, the influx of people coming to New York City is expected to outpace those who jump ship, according to a new report by real estate consultant Nancy Packes Data Services and Eastdil Secured.

The gap between the number of households filing a request to change their address from a city ZIP code to one outside the city and the number of households moving into the city has gradually decreased since May 2020. The report found that post offices received 66,714 change of address requests for households looking to move out of the city and 48,603 requests for those moving to the city in January, which is the most recent data available.

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The number of temporary and permanent change of address requests for leaving the city totaled 832,388 in 2020, which is 233,091 more requests than 2019. Post offices received 339,990 requests for permanent and temporary address changes from Manhattan to locations outside the city and to other boroughs between March 2020 and January 2021, according to the report. During that time, the post office received 222,552 such requests from households in Brooklyn and 153,295 for households in Queens.

The report credits the gradual recovery of rent rates, which have dropped significantly in the past year, and job growth for slowing the exodus from the city. The report’s authors believe that as companies adopt hybrid work models, allowing their employees to work both in the office and remotely, “most people working for companies with offices in the City will live in the City, even if they are farther out in the boroughs.”