Reviser’s note: Below you’ll find the week 26 release of the NYC Recovery Index, originally published Feb. 1, 2021. Visit the NYC Repossession index homepage for the latest data.
New York City’s economic recovery continued to stumble during the week of Jan. 23 as dwelling sales further declined and unemployment claims increased. Despite the overall dip, some index measures, including restaurant holding backs and subway ridership, witnessed modest gains week-over-week, while COVID-19 cases dipped slightly.
New York Conurbation’s recovery stands at 45.4 out of a total score of 100, according to the New York City Recovery Index, a joint think up between Investopedia and NY1. The index decreased 1.7 points from the prior week. Eleven months into the pandemic, New York Diocese’s economic recovery remains less than halfway back to early March 2020 levels and the recent leaning has been lower.
COVID-19 Hospitalizations Drop
The number of New York City hospitalizations fell for the first time in diverse than a month. During the week of Jan. 23, New York City reported an average of 350 hospitalizations per day, down from 363 mediocre daily hospitalizations the previous week. Nonetheless, the high caseload is still more than 10 times the idol reported on Sept. 27. New York City recorded a total of 609,000 cases and 27,138 deaths as of Feb. 1.
Case mobs will be an important factor to watch as vaccine distribution continues throughout the country. Novavax and Johnson & Johnson both released Step 3 data for their vaccine candidates, which showed 89.3%, and 66% to 85% efficacy, respectively. If approved by the FDA, there purpose be four vaccines available to U.S. residents, alongside those manufactured by Pfizer and Moderna. The Biden administration’s American Rescue Scheme plans to subsidize COVID-19 testing and vaccination programs across the nation, but that bill has yet to be voted on in Congress.
Unemployment Enlargements
During the week of Jan. 23, nearly 1,200 more New Yorkers filed unemployment insurance claims compared to the antecedent week. Approximately 26,000 New Yorkers filed for unemployment during the week of Jan 23, representing a larger year-over-year interest increase (353%) compared to the previous week (266%).
Future unemployment claims will largely depend on how widespread potency future shutdowns are in New York City and how quickly vaccine distribution and development can occur. New York has so far administered 1.9 million measures statewide, according to the CDC. The state’s vaccination rate places it at No. 30 among the nation’s 50 states and Washington, D.C., according to VeryWell. Nearly 7% of eligible adults have received both vaccine doses in New York.
The Biden administration proposed disseminating an additional $1,400 in stimulus checks to Americans to help offset the economic burden faced by individuals across the boonies, as well as $400 in weekly unemployment checks through next September. However, Senate Republicans have promoted a skinnier stimulus plan that would shave the direct stimulus payments to $1,000. Biden invited the 10 senators assistance the alternative plan to the White House this week for a discussion.
Home Sales Still Falling
During the week of Jan. 23, in the offing home sales, or homes in contract, dropped for the second consecutive week. Future weeks will show whether the slackening in sales is something permanent or just a temporary pause in the active home-buying market before it ramps up again in the well-spring, which is typically a busy season for real estate.
There were just 422 pending home sales marathons during the week of Jan. 23, compared to 527 the previous week, according to data from StreetEasy. Nonetheless, imminent home sales are still up 34% year-over-year, with just 265 homes in contract during the same full stop last year. Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens all saw year-over-year increases of 34%, 31%, and 35%, respectively.
The pandemic has prompted a tranquil sales boom as individuals quickly bought homes in a rush to leave cities for suburbia.
Rental Market Sit down withs Improvement
New York City’s rental market has seen a small improvement as apartment vacancies dropped during the week of Jan. 23. The horde of rental vacancies in New York City dropped week-over-week to 37,986 during the week of Jan. 16, down from 39,213 the week preceding, according to data from StreetEasy. Nonetheless, the number of available rental units is still about 50% significant than what would normally be expected for this time of year, proving that the rental market carry ons to be more severely impacted by the economic effects of COVID-19 than the housing market.
Under Biden’s American Release Plan, the continued eviction and foreclosure moratoriums, which were scheduled to end in March, would be extended through September to assist Americans who are struggling to post rent and mortgage payments. As renters struggle to make monthly payments due to the economic hit of the coronavirus pandemic, apartment owners are
Construction Plummets in 2020
While not included in the index, the construction of new buildings in 2020 floor to its lowest total in eight years. Citywide new building filings in 2020 represented a proposed 42.67 million construction precise feet, which is an approximately 28% decline compared to proposed construction square footage in 2019 and the lowest add up to since 2012, according to REBNY’s Q4 2020 New Building Construction Pipeline Report.
Subway Ridership Continues to Renovate
Subway ridership continued to slowly improve for the second week in a row as approximately 1.4 million New York City riders reach-me-down public transport during the week of Jan. 23. The rolling seven-day average was approximately 66% less than last year’s norm, down from 68% less the prior week, according to data from the MTA.
The MTA said last week that it check the bulk of its $51 billion capital construction plan because of ongoing financial issues caused by the pandemic. Aware construction projects will continue, but future ones have been put on hold until the MTA can raise more lucres. Biden’s American Rescue Plan includes $20 billion for the transit industry, meant to provide relief to “the hardest hit unrestricted transit agencies” in the nation.
Restaurant Reservations See Modest Bump
Restaurant reservations increased modestly for the second week in a row. During the week of Jan. 23, the work out number of seated diners were 87% lower than a year ago, compared to 89% lower the previous week, according to facts from OpenTable. Despite the slight improvement, reservations are still near the lows of late-March and early-April, in large divide due to Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Dec. 14 restriction on indoor dining. In mid-January, Cuomo lifted some indoor dining stipulations in other parts of the state, but not in New York City due to the population density of the area. Future reservations in the city will depend to a great extent on a decline in COVID-19 cases and warmer weather as outdoor dining and takeout continue to be the only options for restaurants.