HPD Study Finds New Yorkers Need to Double Their Income to Afford City's Higher Median Rent

New Yorkers need to double their average income just to afford the escalating median rent in the five boroughs, a study from the city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) revealed.

That was just one finding released Tuesday in the survey, which is conducted every three years to evaluate housing and vacancy throughout the city.

These findings concluded – among other things – that in 2021, the city’s average household income would need to double in order to afford the median rent price of $2,750.

Even so, the vast majority of available residences are taken, as the HPD reported a citywide vacancy rate of 4.54 percent.

The survey aims to create a comprehensive profile of the city’s housing stock, neighborhoods and populations as well as housing vacancies in order to glean crucial insight to inform policy to make a more equitable city.

“The New York City Housing and Vacancy Survey is a critical tool for our understanding of the city’s housing market,” said Mayor Eric Adams following the release of the report on May 17. “New Yorkers can be confident that, despite all of the challenges, this year’s survey was conducted professionally and methodically — thanks in part to Intro 70, which I signed in March. The findings are clear: Our city’s affordable housing crisis is as dire as ever, and that’s why I am working every day to create and preserve the high quality, affordable housing hardworking New Yorkers need and deserve.”

“The New York City Housing and Vacancy Survey is a critical tool in understanding our housing landscape,” added New York City Chief Housing Officer Jessica Katz. “This data gives us insight into New York City’s ongoing housing emergency as well as the staggering level of rent burden, supply shortage and housing quality issues that we must address to give all New Yorkers the safe, quality and affordable homes they deserve.”

The HPD will release additional information from the 2021 survey in the months to come as the NYC Council reviews the agency’s findings to determine specifically if NYC remains in a housing emergency and if there will be a continued need for rent stabilization laws.

“The New York City Housing and Vacancy Survey paints a detailed portrait of what it’s like to live in New York City,” said HPD Commissioner Adolfo Carrión Jr. “Going forward, the survey data will inform our policymaking, our understanding of how New Yorkers experienced the Covid-19 pandemic, and help our leaders shape this city into a more fair and equitable home for all New Yorkers. While the exact brushstrokes will be analyzed by experts in the weeks and months to come, we are excited to release the initial findings to the public to better inform how we address the city’s housing needs in the years ahead.”

Editor’s note: A version of this story originally ran in amNY. Click here to see the original story.

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