The past year was a big year for housing policy. Now we get to watch those issues play out.
ICYMI, here’s my recap of the major housing and real estate-related political battles that played out in 2024.
Over the next year, we’ll be grappling with questions like: Who will be the next mayor of the city? What will a Trump administration mean for federal funding, and how much will that threaten the progress made on policies aimed at ramping up housing construction?
Many of the top questions for 2025 spring from the policies that were approved in 2024. Last year the state legislature signed off on the new property tax break 485x. The Real Estate Board of New York predicted that the program’s wage and affordability requirements would lead to less housing construction than its predecessor program, 421a.
One reason for this prediction is that construction wage requirements and deeper affordability rules kick in for larger projects. Developers may keep their projects under 100 units to avoid construction wage rules and requirements to include even more affordable housing. We’re already seeing projects just below this threshold.
The legal battle over the Fairness in Apartment Rental Expenses, or FARE, Act will also heat up this year. REBNY filed its suit seeking to block the law in December.
The City Council approved the City of Yes for Housing Opportunity, which included a series of zoning changes aimed at making it easier to build more housing. We’ll be watching to see how many projects actually take advantage of the elimination or reduction of parking requirements for new construction.
City of Yes, as well as the state budget, made it technically easier to convert office buildings into housing. But how many building owners will opt to move forward with these projects?
At the state level, one of the major proposals left on the table in 2024 was a proposal to create a state-funded voucher program, which garnered support from both tenant and landlord groups. That, along with an effort to create a public developer (called the Social Housing Authority), would renovate properties or buy up land to build permanently affordable housing.
Over the last few years, landlord groups have also been pushing a measure that would allow owners to increase rents in stabilized apartments under certain conditions.
Jay Martin, of the New York Apartment Association, told me that his organization is pursuing a new bill, acknowledging that legislative leaders do not have the appetite to allow one-time rent resets.
The new measure would allow some owners of vacant rent stabilized units to rent their units to Section 8 voucher holders and collect the full voucher amount. Sen. Zellnor Myrie, who is running for mayor, has voiced support for a similar policy. Tenant groups have criticized the proposal.
What we’re thinking about: What real estate-related issues are you watching closely? Send a note to kathryn@therealdeal.com.
A thing we’ve learned: The median value of approved applications for major capital improvements in rent stabilized buildings in the state fiscal year 2023-2024 was $169,344, according to the state’s housing regulator. The median was $207,688 in the previous year.
Elsewhere in New York…
— The state is sending out checks for as much as $250 to individuals who have unclaimed funds (such as money from old bank accounts or deposits from utilities), even if they did not file any claim to the funds, Gothamist reports. A change to the state’s abandoned property law allows for these automatic disbursements.
— ICYMI, congestion pricing started on Sunday, the Associated Press reports. Most drivers entering Manhattan south of 60th Street on weekdays between 5 a.m. and 9 p.m. and on weekends between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. must now pay a $9 toll.
— President-elect Donald Trump is slated to be sentenced in his hush money trial on Friday, but he is fighting to cancel the hearing, Politico reports. Trump’s legal team maintains that his sentencing should be postponed until his appeal arguing that he is protected by presidential immunity is heard.
Closing Time
Residential: The priciest residential sale Monday was $11.9 million for a townhouse at 37 West 70th Street. The Upper West Side brownstone is 7,000-square-feet and selling at a discount from its initial listing price of $14 million. Douglas Elliman’s Adam Widener, Kevin Stefanak, Mollie Claire Lawrence, John Gomes and Fredrik Eklund have the listing.
Commercial: The most expensive commercial closing of the day was $35.6 million for 143 Franklin Street. Krinos Properties is selling the property to an undisclosed buyer.
New to the Market: The highest price for a residential property hitting the market was $29 million for a penthouse at 109 East 79th Street. The Upper East Side condo is 5,500-square-feet and listed by Compass’s Richard Steinberg, Alexander Mignogna, Charles Beda and William Findlay. Breaking Ground: The largest new building application filed was 157,900-square-feet for a 14-story, mixed-used dwelling at 3816 Ninth Avenue in Manhattan. The building is set to have over 130,000 square-feet for residential space and 24,000-square-feet for a community facility, per reports. Andrew Knox of ESKW/A is the applicant on file. — Joseph Jungermann