NYBC Report: NYC Construction Outlook 2025-2027

In mid-October, the New York Building Congress (NYBC) released its New York City Construction Outlook Report for 2025-2027. At the current pace of activity, spending for construction projects in New York City is forecast to reach a total of $74 billion at the end of 2025. Over the three-year period, “spending in inflation-adjusted dollars is expected to reach $219.105 billion ($230 billion in nominal dollars), or $152.512 billion if government construction is eliminated from the total. Spending on residential construction is forecast to lead the way in the 2025-2027 period, accounting for about 63% of the inflation-adjusted dollar total for residential and non-residential spending. Similarly, of the total three-year forecast of 170,839 gross square feet in residential and non-residential floorspace being created, residential is forecast to account for about 73% — primarily driven by alteration and renovation work in 2025 as a persisting “market reaction to the high cost of financing new projects” as increased interest rates “remain a key reason for reduced industry activity.” The city continues lead construction activity nationwide, consistently accounting for “3% of all dollars spent nationwide on an annual basis in the past 5 years.” Private sector construction employment is expected to remain steady during the period as the industry continues to pursue passing its pre-pandemic levels, reaching 139,000 jobs in 2025 across the construction of buildings, heavy and civil engineering, and specialty trades and forecast to climb to 140,000 jobs in 2026 and 2027. However, total employment this year is down about 4,000 jobs from NYBC’s 2024 report forecast — a sign of overall activity cooling.

Source:    https://buildingcongress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/2025-Construction-Outlook.pdf