Resi units planned in multifamily buildings drop 50% in Q2

Residential development experienced a sharp downturn in the second quarter of 2022 after hitting record highs in the previous two quarters.

There were just over 9,000 residential units filed for in multifamily buildings in Q2, which was a nearly 50 percent decline from the 17,904 dwelling units filed for in Q1. An additional 18,718 dwelling units had been filed for in Q4 of 2021, the most in any quarter in at least the previous 10 years.

PincusCo looked at all new building plans for residential buildings that called for the construction of four or more dwelling units. Plans marked as withdrawn were not included in the analysis. Hotel buildings were not included in the analysis.

The volume of residential units planned in Q2 was more aligned with what the city experienced from the start of 2019 to the end of 2020, when the average number of residential dwelling units filed for in multifamily buildings was just under 8,000 per quarter.

The total square footage in new building plans for multifamily residential buildings dropped even more significantly in Q2, falling 61 percent from the totals in Q1. The 6.7 million square feet of new construction was the lowest quarterly total since Q2 of 2021.

Yisroel Greenfeld was the most prolific developer by number of projects filed in Q2, with six new buildings calling for the construction of 87 dwelling units. The most significant plans from the developer called for the construction of a 20-unit, 13,499-square-foot residential building at 104 Frost Street in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.