A deepening housing shortage is costing New York City nearly $2 billion in annual tax revenue while driving residents out of the five boroughs and locking others into homes that don’t fit their needs, according to a new report released Thursday.
“Housing scarcity is bad for New Yorkers, it’s bad for the economy and it's bad for the city's fiscal health,” Campion said. “For New Yorkers, housing scarcity degrades their quality of life.” “People leaving the city are those households and adults mostly in their prime working ages, Campion said. “They take their property, their personal income tax, and they take their sales tax revenue with them.”
Just under 15% of New York City renters moved into their current apartment within the last year, compared to about 25% nationwide, according to CBC’s review of 2022 data. Rent regulations that limit monthly increases encourage people to stay put, contributing to the lower rate of moves, but a lack of housing supply means tenants also have few other options in their price range, Campion said.
“But that’s only the first step,” he said. “It's really going to take a broad approach to actually fixing this.”