Construction permits dipped for the first time in about a decade according to a recent report from the New York City Department of Buildings, signaling a potential slow down of a recent climb that brought building to historic levels.
According to the analysis, citywide there were 165,988 construction permits in 2018, down from 168,243 the year prior.
Even with a slight dip in the number of permits, levels of construction have still continued at a heightened clip, however. Data from the report shows that in 2018, the number of demolition and new building permits still represents a 44 percent increase over 2013 — this year’s construction alone will add a whopping 46 million s/f of new floor space to the city.
The permits that were issued, according to the report, fell primarily in Manhattan which accounted for a little more than 74,000 permits last year — about 43 percent of all construction that took place in the city as a whole.
As construction shows signs of easing up, according to an annual report by the firm Turner & Townsend, in 2018 New York City once again took the title for most expensive city to build in, clocking in at an average of $362 per s/f. Union wages for construction workers were a main contributor, falling in at the second highest on the annual list under Zurich, Switzerland.
In a report forecasting the spending for 2019, the New York Building Congress estimates that 2019 will bring $50 billion of spending overall.