NYC is Building More Housing Than in the Past 60 Years, Why Aren't Developers Optimistic? By the second quarter of 2025, something had shifted. 424 new building filings were made at the Department of Buildings, a 28 percent increase over the prior year and a 43 percent increase over Q1 2025. On the completions side, the story looks even better — on the surface. New York City was on pace to complete 50,000 new homes in 2025, far exceeding 2024's 34,000 units, which itself had been the highest number of new homes built in the city since 1965.