February 10, 2020
Industry News – Week of 2/7/20

Updates provided by Austin Manna, Law Clerk

Long-Awaited Report Seeks To Remedy NYC’s Unequal Property Tax Burden – Gothamist, 1/31/2020

• One proposal to tax most residential properties at their full market value (instead of purchase price), so homeowners in more affluent neighborhoods can’t pay disproportionately low property taxes anymore
  • The cap placed on rising property values would be scrapped
• One proposal would create a “circuit breaker” that would ensure that individuals pay no more than a certain % of their income.
• One proposal seeks to do away with a 40-year practice of valuing co-ops and condos as if they were rental propertiesindustry news week of 2.7.20
• Seeking a 2021 implementation goal (if passed)

Buyers Return After Rent-Control Slams New York Apartment Values – Wall Street Journal, 2/4/2020

• Big RE companies are buying rent-regulated apartment buildings
• NYC landlords thought the new state law (which makes it much harder for landlords to upgrade and convert rent-stabilized units to more profitable market-rate apartments) would reduce interest in these properties – values fell by 25%
  • Now cheap buildings are luring investors who want to profit with cheap mortgages and stable cash flow

New York City Wants More Basement Apartments to Tackle Housing Crunch – Wall Street Journal, 2/6/2020

• NYC to change zoning rules to ease the process of converting basements, garages and backyard sheds into apartments, creates more affordable housing
• Announced an initiative to legalize basement apartments, pledging $150MM in loans to help homeowners bring units up to code
  • Expects ≥ 10k affordable units in next decade under changes
• Project expected to take 2 years

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