New York City property values are set to decline 5.2% from the current fiscal year, the biggest decline since the early 1990s, highlighting the toll the pandemic has taken on the city\u2019s commercial and residential property values.<\/p>\n
The city has set a value of $1.3 trillion for its more than one million properties for the fiscal year beginning in July, according to a tentative assessment roll released by the Department of Finance Friday. Commercial properties led the decline. Retail and hotel values dropped 21.1% and 22.4%, respectively, while office building values fell 15.6%.<\/p>\n
\u201cBy all accounts, 2020 was an extraordinary year with a global pandemic that disrupted virtually all aspects of society,\u201d said incoming Department of Finance Commissioner Sherif Soliman in a news release. \u201cNew York City\u2019s real estate market was not shielded from the pandemic\u2019s effects on the City\u2019s economy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Real estate taxes are the largest contributor to New York City\u2019s revenue and the primary source of funds that back its approximately $40 billion of outstanding general-obligation bonds. Property tax revenue is estimated to drop by $2.5 billion, compared to the city\u2019s November forecast, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Thursday. Citywide assessed values, which determine the value of property for tax purposes, fell 3.9% to $260.3 billion.<\/p>\n
Workers have been slow to return the office and many renters have fled the city to escape the pandemic. Only 10% of Manhattan\u2019s one million office workers had come back to the office as of late October, according to the Partnership for New York City, a business lobbying group.<\/p>\n
Manhattan\u2019s office vacancy rate rose to a 24-year high of 13.3% in the third quarter as new space, including the recently opened One Vanderbilt, outpaced demand, according to the city\u2019s Office of Management and Budget. New leasing activity fell to the lowest nine-month level since 1995.<\/p>\n
Market values for cooperative, condominium and rental apartment buildings fell 8% to $320 billion. One-to-three bedroom home values increased a slight 0.8%.<\/p>\n