New York will gain 26,739 new rentals this year, more than any other U.S. metro area

Apartment construction is at a 20-year high nationwide, according to a new report from listings website RentCafé, and New York City leads the pack, with more new rental construction than any other market in the country.

This year, almost 27,000 new apartments are slated for completion in the five boroughs —up nearly 10,000 units from 2016. The biggest chunk of that growth is in Manhattan, which is expected to get 7,023 new units this year, the report shows. Brooklyn isn’t far behind: the borough trails by a mere 39 units.

But while Queens on the whole comes in third, with an influx of 4,165 new units coming in 2017, it’s home to the fastest growing neighborhood in the country: since 2010, Long Island City has given rise to more new apartments than anywhere else, according to another, also-recent RentCafé study. Jersey City, meanwhile, is expected to add “a consistent” 2,000 new units in buildings like Vantage, Journal Squared, and Jersey City Urby.

So what does this mean for rents, if anything? RentCafé is optimistic that it’ll lead to a better deals for renters; as Doug Ressler, who helped compile the report, notes, “Rent growth is slowing down, even in the country’s most expensive markets,” and concessions (like a month of free rent or waived fees) are on the rise.

That tracks, to some extent, with our own rental market reports; the number of NYC rentals that now offer perks has been steadily rising since last year, and some markets (like Brooklyn) have remained essentially flat, rather than experiencing precipitous spikes. Whether or not that will change as all these units come to market remains to be seen.

• Apartment Construction at its Highest Level in 20 Years, with Denver, Nashville Joining NYC as 2017’s Hottest Rental Markets [RentCafé]
• Long Island City outpaces the rest of the U.S. in new apartment construction [Curbed NY]