April 25, 2008
Permits Point to Slowdown in Construction Boom
The number of residential construction permits issued by the Dept. of Buildings in the first quarter of 2008 declined by 46% from the same period in 2007, indicating that the construction boom that has gripped the city over the last several years may be coming to an end. The decline was citywide, with fewer permits issued in all five boroughs, although the sharpest decrease occurred in the Bronx.
Developers told Crain's New York Business that there were three salient reasons for the drop in permits. First and foremost is the credit crunch that's making it more difficult for individual home buyers to get mortgages. Without firm pre-commitments from buyers, developers find it almost impossible to get financing from banks for building projects. Also accentuating the decline is that 1997 reached the second highest level of unit permits issued since 1965. 1997 was the third consecutive year that more than 30,000 residential unit permits were issued in NYC. And that peak in permits last year, may have been due to the imminent end of a tax abatement program that required foundations to be in the ground by June 30th.
A decline in permits, of course, is a bellwether for a drop in real estate sales and the tax revenue they generate for the City.
Bowery Construction, by Gamma Blog at flickr
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what- did New York finally run out of flush yuppie hedgefunders to snap up these overpriced condos?
I thought new york was immune to the housing crisis because it is, like, so totally different from the rest of the country.
praise the lord, i don't need more whiteys walking their dogs or jogging in my neigb, i notice an increase of that whenever condos go up, the condo next to me and behind me have halted construction i think, some peace finally
I'm glad the luxury building boom has slowed down. I just wish some more developers would build affordable housing instead. When was the last time anyone heard about affordable family housing being built in the city? Everybody's focused on the well-off, but I guess money talks.
in other news, a hedge fund manager just paid $800K for a storage room at the Dakota.
gimme, I'm sure you hate crackers but you loves yourself our womens.
Don't worry, if the Bush economy gets any nastier, all those luxury condos will become affordable housing.
youse womens have no junk, i needs womens with junk, i goes to brazil now