The affordable housing we save is as important as the affordable housing we build

New York City needs approximately 700,000 new homes over the next decade. That’s the conclusion of the city’s recently released Fair Housing Growth Strategy, which establishes an ambitious framework for easing the affordability crisis in the City of New York. The strategy sets five-year targets of 350,000 new homes and 100,000 preserved units. But we have to ask: Are we placing enough value on the housing we already have? Because, from an investment perspective, preservation may offer advantages that deserve considerably more attention. The economics of preservation The financial case is simple: Protecting an existing asset can require less capital than replacing it. New York City’s affordable housing inventory challenges provide an interesting case. According to a 2026 report from the Association for Neighborhood & Housing Development, more than 63,700 subsidized affordable apartments are experiencing financial distress. The report estimates that replacing those units through new construction could require between $10.2 billion and $26.8 billion in public subsidies. Those figures illustrate the potential financial consequences of allowing existing affordable housing to become ...