NYC Landlords Report 6.2% Income Jump—but Here’s Why They Say They’re Still Sinking

For the third consecutive year, the financial health of rent-stabilized housing in New York City appears to be on the up—at least on paper.

Net Operating Income (NOI)—a measure of profitability—for buildings containing stabilized units climbed 6.2% citywide in 2024, according to the 2026 Income and Expense Study released today by the Rent Guidelines Board.

The report, which analyzed over 805,000 units across 17,000 buildings, paints a picture of a split market. Staten Island and Manhattan's core led the surge with a 15.1% and 10% jump in NOI, respectively. But in the Bronx, NOI dipped by 0.1%, with some neighborhoods like Hunts Point seeing a staggering 13.1% collapse in net income.

"NOI is a flawed metric that presents a grossly inaccurate representation of the financial realities of small property owners," Ann Korchak, board president of Small Property Owners of New York (SPONY), said in a statement to Realtor.com®. The majority of SPONY members own 100% rent-stabilized buildings,

Joel Berner, senior economist at Realtor.com®, largely agrees.

"Positive NOI growth is one of the signs that landlords are healthy, but there could be more issues behind the scenes," he says.

Can the city handle a rent freeze?

The findings come amid a highly publicized season for the Rent Guidelines Board. After Mayor Zohran Mamdani ran a campaign promising a rent freeze, it will be up to the RGB to deliver. The new data will help shape their deliberations, and under the headline growth, the data raises serious questions about landlords' ability to shoulder a freeze.

For one, even though net operating income is up overall, growth is thinnest among buildings that are entirely rent-stabilized units, at just 2.2%. The report also shows that expenses are growing fast—up 4.2% since 2023.

Taxes represent one of the biggest drivers, accounting for 26.3% of all costs. It's a significant finding, given that there are at least two proposals currently being shopped by the Mamdani administration that would raise taxes for property owners—either through a broad property tax increase or a more targeted property tax surcharge on Class 1 and 2 buildings worth $5 million or more, many of which house renters.

Inflation is also eating into incomes. Citywide NOI growth drops from 6.2% to just 2.2% when adjusting for inflation, with boroughs outside Manhattan hit particularly hard, dropping to a razor-thin margin of just 0.9%.

For the 45.5% of rent stabilized tenants that are currently rent-burdened, the news will likely be met with a collective 'So what?'

"Considering landlord financial health is essential. Without doing so, there will not be enough livable units for people to rent," explains Berner.

Imperfect metrics for a monumental challenge

That's exactly the crisis Korchak is trying to draw attention to. Her organization has been vocal in drawing attention to the city's so-called "ghost apartments"—an estimated 50,000 rent-stabilized units sitting vacant because the cost of rehabilitation far exceeds the potential return

"Even independent economists are warning that NOI is not a true indicator of the fiscal health of small rent-stabilized buildings," Korchak says. "It doesn’t factor in mortgage debt, costly apartment improvements, and major capital expenses, such as new roofs and boilers, electrical and plumbing upgrades, and façade repairs, that are a constant in older rent-stabilized buildings."

Berner agrees.

"NOI represents day-to-day cash flows of running an apartment building, but it doesn't tell the whole story," he says.

To his point, the report found that expense-adjusted operating costs of buildings was 61.7%—meaning that roughly 62 cents of every dollar of revenue was spent on operating and maintenance costs. For buildings that are entirely rent stabilized, the ratio is much higher at 70.6%.

"Major capital expenditures for one-time projects like a new roof are not included in NOI. Even though on an NOI basis it can look like a landlord is doing well, if they are neglecting important improvements to a building, they can quickly become insolvent."

When operating costs consume nearly 71 cents of every dollar, the remaining income can easily be swallowed by the very costs, like mortgages and emergency repairs, that the RGB’s primary metrics don't capture.

Today, 40% of New York City rentals are stabilized units, and vacancy rates for these units is under 1%, according to the most recent rent report from Realtor.com. Any more pressure from capping how much revenue these buildings can generate could jeopardize the city's ability to maintain or add the additional rental units that it so desperately needs.

"All the well-documented issues with rent control come down to the result that landlords can't afford to lease units well under rent control, meaning that the supply of updated, safe rentals collapses," Berner notes.

"This data is an average, so just imagine the thousands of small properties that are operating in the red," Korchak adds. "We need a more accurate and transparent analysis that uses more timely information and reflects the economic distress of small property owners."