Propelled by a wave of major residential development projects in New York City and Jersey City, N.J., the construction value of the region's top 30 projects to break ground last year totaled just over $11 billion. While that's down from $12.7 billion in 2013, it marks the second year in a row that the aggregate total construction value of the region's top projects has broken the $10-billion mark since the recession began in late 2007.
The boom in housing demand, particularly in the upscale market, is a key driver. In New York City alone, housing starts rose in value for the fourth consecutive year. They reached $11.9 billion in 2014, a 73% increase from $6.9 billion in 2013, according to a New York Building Congress analysis of construction data from Dodge Data & Analytics published in mid-February. The surge in residential construction is largely a product of ongoing demand for luxury apartments, says the Building Congress. In fact, the city ranked as the top metropolitan area in terms of 2014 dollar amount of multifamily starts.