NYC needs 700,000 new homes to resolve housing crisis, report states

How many new homes does New York City need to escape its housing crisis? According to a new report from New York City’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development, 700,000 — all built within the next decade.

David Brand writes for Gothamist that the “Fair Growth Housing Strategy” report, a first-of-its-kind citywide housing blueprint, assigned every neighborhood in New York City a specific housing target based on their current growth trajectory. It carved the city into low-, medium- and high-growth districts. While the targets are non-binding, they are highly specific.  For example East Flatbush, in Brooklyn, should add 5,840 units, the report states. Harlem should add 5,595 and “high-growth” Astoria should add 10,000 — over 10% of its existing stock. 

Brand reports that in 2025, the city added the highest number of apartments that it had in any year since 1965. Low-income renters, however, remain underserved: New York City built and preserved just 12,491 affordable homes in the first half of 2026, the lowest output since 2022, all while rental prices continue to soar. 

To combat the city’s lack of affordable housing, New York City Mayor Zohran Mandami pledged in May to build 200,000 low- and middle-income apartments over the next ten years. New York City residents also voted on measures intended to speed up new housing development in 2025.