CactusBoyScout OP t1_izh2hgs wrote on December 9, 2022 at 1:29 AM

Reply to comment by LunchMasterFlex in “Adams Plan Would Relax Rules for Developers Amid N.Y.C. Housing Crisis” The mayor proposed reducing requirements that he said slow the construction of new homes as the city contends with a housing crisis. by CactusBoyScout

The vacancy rate is at historic lows and decreases every year.

What you’re describing only happens in noteworthy numbers on Billionaires Row.

Everywhere else, landlords are renting out as many units as they possibly can to take advantage of high prices.

Also, people who repeat this never seem to be able to explain why rents went down substantially in 2020. Did landlords withholding things not work then? Surely that would’ve been the ideal time to do it, right?

LunchMasterFlex t1_izh86qu wrote on December 9, 2022 at 2:14 AM

Yeah. It didn’t work then because you can’t withhold things people don’t want. People left faster than they could replace and they already held some stock vacant. Look at commercial rentals in manhattan. Land lords would rather hold a storefront empty and wait for another Starbucks than lower the price and give it to a small business owner.

And what’s the metric for vacancy? Actual empty units or units left in the market? Who reports the vacancies?

CactusBoyScout OP t1_izhbop1 wrote on December 9, 2022 at 2:41 AM

The state tracks housing vacancy rates. I don’t know the exact criteria but they’ve tracked it for decades.

The rent stabilization law has a stipulation that stabilization ends automatically when vacancies reach a certain percentage that’s considered healthy for a housing market. That has never happened, obviously. They came close during 2020 but still short.

And we saw what happens to rents when vacancies actually increase significantly.