Selected Initial
Findings of the 2008 New York City Housing and Vacancy Survey (PDF)
HPD
RELEASES REVISED INITIAL FINDINGS OF 2008 NEW YORK CITY HOUSING AND VACANCY
SURVEY
Revisions Necessitated
by the Census Bureau’s Correction of Improper Base Weighting Resulted in Little
to No Meaningful Changes in Technical or Policy-related Findings
Rental
Vacancy Rate Still Remains Less than the Five Percent Threshold Necessary to
Keep Rent Regulation Protections Intact for New York City
Residents
The New York City Department
of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) today released revised initial
results of the 2008 New York City Housing and Vacancy Survey (HVS). The revised
2008 HVS data arose from the US Census Bureau’s correction of erroneous base
weights applied to some sample units. Though the resulting changes had little to
no meaningful effect on the survey’s technical or policy-related findings, it
was important to revise the initial findings to preserve its accuracy for use in
comparisons with past and future data.
The revised data from the
2008 survey, which reveals a synopsis of the City’s housing market between
February and June 2008, found that the citywide net rental vacancy rate was 2.91
percent – not 2.88 percent as originally reported – down from 3.09 percent in
2005. The City’s total housing stock rose to more than 3.33 million units – the
largest in the 43-year period since the first survey was conducted in 1965 – and
all five boroughs saw an increase in housing. New Yorkers’ satisfaction with
their neighborhoods and overall building conditions reached their highest ever
levels since they were first measured, 30 years ago and 43 years ago,
respectively.
The survey, conducted by the
U.S. Census Bureau at the request of the City of New York every three years, is
required by State and City rent regulation laws to determine New York City’s
overall vacancy rate for rental housing. A rental vacancy rate below five
percent triggers the declaration of a “housing emergency,” which is necessary
for the continuation of rent regulation protections for New York City residents.
Every survey since the first one in 1965 has found the rental vacancy rate to be
below five percent.
The survey draws its sample
of roughly 21,000 housing units from the 2000 decennial census conducted by the
U.S. Census Bureau and updated by HPD to include new construction, conversion
and alteration. Interviews for the survey were conducted between February and
June, 2008.
In addition to restating the
rental vacancy rate, the revised initial findings also restated the number of
rent stabilized units lost in the three years since the last survey. The new
data shows a loss of 20,430; though, under the New Housing Marketplace Plan, the
City started construction or renovation of 46,196 affordable units (16,869
homeownership units and 29,327 rental units) during that time, most of which
will fall under rent regulation once completed.
Rental and ownership rates
were also affected by the revised weighting. From 2005 to 2008, the number of
rent stabilized units in buildings constructed before 1947 fell by 30,000, or
4.0 percent, rather than 22,000, or 2.9 percent, as originally reported. The
initial data also undercounted the increase in rent stabilized units in
buildings constructed after 1947. The correct increase was 9,000, not 5,000.
This resulted in a net loss of 20,000 units (numbers do not add up exactly
because of rounding).
The median income of renter
households in 2007 was also adjusted from $36,000 to $36,200, an increase of
13.1 percent from 2004, meaning that real income rose by 2.0 percent in the
three years examined. The 2005 to 2008 increase in median gross rents, which
include the cost of fuel and utilities, was also restated as a real dollar
increase of 4.4 percent, rather than 4.2 percent, as originally stated. In
addition, the number of people in 2008 applying more than 50 percent of their
income for contract rent was adjusted slightly from 25.8 percent (the same as in
2005) to 25.9 percent in 2008.
Full details of the 2008
Housing and Vacancy Survey revised initial findings are available on HPD’s
website at www.nyc.gov/hpd. The
comprehensive final report on the 2008 survey will be released in 2010 by HPD,
which commissioned the independent survey on behalf of the City of New
York.
The NYC Department of
Housing Preservation and Development (HPD)
HPD’s mission is to promote
quality housing and viable neighborhoods for New Yorkers. It is the nation's
largest municipal housing preservation and development agency. Responsible for
implementing Mayor Bloomberg's New Housing Marketplace Plan to build and
preserve 165,000 units of affordable housing, HPD also actively promotes the
preservation of affordable housing through education, outreach, loan programs
and enforcement of housing quality standards. For more information visit www.nyc.gov/hpd.
# # #
MAYOR BLOOMBERG RELEASES INITIAL
FINDINGS OF 2008 NEW YORK CITY HOUSING AND VACANCY SURVEY
Triennial Study Shows That New York City’s
Total Housing
Supply and Neighborhood Satisfaction Reach Record Levels
Rental Vacancy Rate
Has Remained Less than the Five Percent Threshold Necessary to Keep Rent Regulation Protections Intact for New York
City Residents
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, Deputy Mayor for Economic
Development Robert C. Lieber and Department of Housing Preservation and
Development (HPD) Acting Commissioner Marc Jahr today released the initial
results of the 2008 New York City Housing and Vacancy Survey. The 2008 survey,
which reveals a synopsis of the City’s housing market between February and June
2008, found that the citywide net rental vacancy rate was 2.88 percent, down
from 3.09 percent in 2005. The City’s total housing stock rose to more than 3.33
million units – the largest in the 43-year period since the first survey was
conducted in 1965 – and all five boroughs saw an increase in housing. New
Yorkers’ satisfaction with their neighborhoods and overall building conditions
reached their highest ever levels since they were first measured, 30 years ago
and 43 years ago, respectively. The survey, conducted every three years, is
required by State and City rent-regulation laws to determine New York City’s
overall vacancy rate for rental housing. A rental vacancy rate below five
percent triggers the declaration of a “housing emergency,” which is necessary
for the continuation of rent regulation protections for New York City residents.
Every survey since the first one in 1965 has found the rental vacancy rate to be
below five percent.
“New York City’s housing stock grew more in the past
three years than at any point since the City began conducting this survey more
than forty years ago,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “As a result, we have more housing
to meet the demand of our growing population than ever before. At the same time,
the fact that New York City’s rental vacancy rate remains below five percent
shows the pressure on our housing market and it will trigger the continuation of
the City’s rent protections. The survey also indicates that New Yorkers are
reporting the highest levels of satisfaction with their neighborhoods and
buildings, the latest example that the investments we are making in all five
boroughs continue to pay off.”
“The Housing and Vacancy Survey gives us a snapshot of
housing availability, affordability and condition,” said Acting HPD Commissioner
Jahr. “It is extremely gratifying to know that the New Housing Marketplace Plan
has played an important role in contributing to the largest number of housing
units on record. The fact that every borough shared in the growth is noteworthy,
as is the report that neighborhood conditions and the quality of our housing
stock in general is at an all-time high. The Mayor and the City Council, along
with our for-profit and non-profit partners, are to be commended for their
commitment to quality and affordable housing.”
The survey is conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau
at the request of the City of New York every three years. It draws its
sample of roughly 18,000 housing units from the 2000 decennial census conducted
by the U.S. Census Bureau and updated to include new construction, renovation
and conversion. Interviews for the survey were conducted between February and
June, 2008.
The 2008 survey shows that between 2005 and 2008
the City’s total inventory of residential units increased by nearly 68,000 to
3.33 million. Within that period, more than 13,000 income-targeted rental units
– equivalent to nearly 20 percent of the net increase – were produced through
the City’s $7.1 billion New Housing Marketplace Plan. The City started
construction on thousands of new units that are not reflected in this report. While
the survey shows that the number of rent stabilized units fell by 16,838,
under the New Housing Marketplace Plan, the City started construction or
renovation of 46,196 affordable units (16,869 homeownership units and 29,327
rental units), most of which will fall under rent regulation once completed.
Residents reported the highest levels of neighborhood
satisfaction, neighborhood conditions and building conditions since such
measurements have been taken. The proportion of renter households near buildings
with broken or boarded-up windows on the same street fell to 5.1 percent in 2008
from 6.3 percent in 2005 and 8.6 percent in 2002. Nearly 72 percent of renter
households rated the quality of their neighborhood buildings as “good” or
“excellent.”
Full details of the 2008 Housing and Vacancy Survey
initial findings are available on HPD’s website at Selected Initial
Findings of the 2008 New York City Housing and Vacancy Survey (PDF).
The comprehensive final report on the 2008 survey will be released in 2010 by
HPD, which commissioned the independent survey on behalf of the City of New York.
Raw data and tables of data by
occupancy and rent regulation/ownership status are available at
http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/housing/nychvs/nychvs.html
HPD released the final comprehensive report on the 2005
New York City Housing and Vacancy Survey (HVS). The 668-page report,
Housing New York City 2005
, by Dr. Moon Wha Lee, analyzes extensively the City’s major
housing issues, involving the City’s residential population, households, housing
stock and neighborhoods: 326 tables and 88 figures present detailed data on the
population, race and ethnicity, household composition and types, immigration,
crowding and doubling-up, incomes, poverty, education, employment,
homeownership, vacancies and vacancy rates, rent levels, affordability, housing
quality and neighborhood conditions. Thirty-one maps show local concentrations
of population and housing characteristics. In addition, 29 tables show detailed
data for each of the 55 sub-borough areas, similar to Community Districts. The
Report is accompanied by a color wall map of the city showing Community
Districts, Sub-Borough Areas and census tracts. The Report is useful to policy
analysts, planners, scholars and researchers, real estate analysts and
developers, service providers, government agencies and community groups.