Real estate agents are reporting a surge in wealthy New Yorkers heading south after Zohran Mamdani’s historic win in the city’s mayoral primary.
Mamdani, a far-left assembly member from Queens, ran on a campaign pushing progressive policies like a citywide rent freeze, taxpayer-funded childcare and “fast and free” public buses. It garnered him 565,639 votes. However, the city’s wealthy, including business owners, are concerned about the financial effects of some of those policies.
Daniel de la Vega, president of ONE Sotheby’s International Realty, said website traffic from the New York area increased by 50% in the week after the primary.
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“Our agents are fielding calls from buyers actively reassessing their options, and we have seen a clear uptick in demand across our new developments,” he said.
They are seeing interest from high-net-worth individuals and institutional investors in particular. Within that group, they are “seeing a range of different buyers, including families, entrepreneurs and wealth managers looking to relocate operations and lifestyle permanently,” de la Vega added.
De la Vega said all of them are motivated by tax advantages, greater stability, safety and an overall elevated quality of life.
During 2018 and 2022, more than 125,000 New Yorkers made the move to the Sunshine State. This brought nearly $14 billion in adjusted gross income and “created a major surge in South Florida real estate,” he said, adding that the wave of demand reshaped the market. If Mamdani wins the general election, it “could fuel a second wave of migration,” de la Vega added.
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De la Vega said his agency is still waiting to see how things play out regarding the outcome of the general election, but it is “seeing early signs of owners who are spooked by the uncertainty.”
One of his clients, who has owned and rented a condo unit in Manhattan for over a decade, recently decided to sell due to rising operating expenses, growing regulatory uncertainty and the possibility of increased taxes and rent control.
He said it’s clear that “many are weighing their options, accelerating timelines and treating this moment as a window of opportunity to explore and enter the South Florida market ahead of election season.”
However, de la Vega argued that, for many people, New York still offers unmatched opportunity, connectivity and cultural vibrancy.
“It remains one of the world’s most dynamic, resilient and desirable real estate markets. No matter how the election shakes out, the city has always proven its ability to adapt and thrive,” he said.
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