Building permits issued for one-family houses have continued at about the same level in the New York Metropolitan Region for the seventh year in a row, but multi-family housing permits dropped last year after a steady and substantial rise since 1957. Recent increases in apartment construction probably are attributable mainly to a rise in the number of families without school age children and to the bunching of building permits issued in New York City in 1961 and 62 before enforcement of a new and more restrictive zoning ordinance.
The Region’s drop in multi-family authorizations in 1963 appears to have stemmed mainly from that bunching of New York City apartment starts in the previous two years.