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How many landlords are there in New York
Hello, thanks for asking Wonder about how many landlords are there in New York. The short version is that the landlord market in New York is heavily fragmented between a number of large corporations owning several buildings and small-scale landlords that own a few bunch of houses, so it’s hard to give an exact number of landlords in the area. That said, my extensive research and calculations revealed that there are approximately 17,500 landlords in New York that own between 1-5 buildings in the city. I will explain how I arrived at this number, along with other findings, in the deep dive of my research that is detailed below.
METHODOLOGY
The primary sources for my research were corporate websites and trusted media sites. I began my research by focusing my search on information regarding the number of landlords in New York. Then based on the background information, I narrowed down my search to landlords that owned 1 to 5 rentals, taking note of the key players in the industry and their market share in NYC. It is from all that information that I deductively inferred the number of landlords in the city.
RESEARCH FINDINGS
According to the Rent Stabilization Association, a landlord advocacy group representing all the landlords in New York City, “70% of its 25,000 members are small-property owners,” most of whom own one or two buildings, and none of those buildings houses more than 48 apartments. This landlord advocacy group further notes that, out of the one million rent-stabilized apartments in New York, these landlords own approximately 650,000 of them.
In terms of market share, data compiled by the CoStar Group for Commercial Observer notes that New York’s four biggest landlords control nearly 20% of the market. These four biggest landlords are ranked as follows, per the report:
1. Brookfield Asset Management: Has the biggest NYC market share (4.98%) with 27.5 million square feet
Notably, the remaining 10 biggest landlords in the city, as compiled by the CoStar Group for Commercial Observer, reportedly have market shares in New York “ranging from 8.9 million square feet (1.62%) to 13.4 million square feet (2.43%).” In total, the 10 top landlords in New York control around 30% of the city’s properties.
On the front of rentals developments in the city, a recent report Citi Habitats, a real estate brokerage in NYC, indicates that 11,514 new rental units came on the market in Brooklyn and Manhattan—two of the city’s most beloved and affluent areas—in 2016. And even with the rising cases of inflation in the national economy (in general) and the New York housing industry (to be specific), as many as 13,340 new rentals are expected to come up in 2017, underscoring what many other housing experts are saying about the anticipated growth in NYC’s rental market. This should be able to translate into good revenues and profitability for landlords in the city, considering two-thirds of residents in New York are renters.
With regards to your specific question on the number of landlords in New York, I wasn’t able to find any source that gave any cumulative or approximate figures. However, from my research, I was able to infer the number of landlords in the city as follows:
As per the information from the Rent Stabilization Association, there are 25,000 members in their landlord advocacy group, which pretty much constitutes and represents all the landlords in New York. Out of that number, 70% reportedly own between 1-2 buildings, which is the closest information I found falling within your requested parameters of owning 1-5 buildings. Deductively, we can therefore calculate the number of such landlords in the city as follows: 25,000 x 0.7, which equals to 17,500. And, as such, the total number of NYC landlords that own between 1-5 buildings in the city, as per my findings, are approximately 17,500.
CONCLUSION
In recap, here are the key statistics you should take note of with regards to your question:
#1 70% of the 25,000 members of the Rent Stabilization Association--which is a landlord advocacy group that represents all the landlords in New York City--are small-property owners, owning 1-2 buildings.
#2 New York city's four biggest landlords--Brookfield Asset Management, SL Green Realty Corp, Vornado Realty Trust, and Tishman Speyer--control nearly 20% of the market. In total, the 10 top landlords in New York control around 30%of the city’s properties.
#3 As many as 13,340 new rentals are expected to come up in 2017 in the Brooklyn and Manhattan areas. This, just like many other reports that project growth and profitability in NYC’s rental industry, is good news for New York landlords, and spells new business opportunities for existing and potential investors in the market.
#4 The total number of New York landlords that own between 1-5 buildings in the city, as per my findings, are approximately 17,500.
I hope this answers your question. Otherwise, thanks for using Wonder!