What NYC brokers and executives think about Mamdani and his impact on the housing market
As expected, Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani was declared the winner of the New York City mayoral race Tuesday night, with affordable housing and rent controls as two of the major issues in his platform.
This has set off a wide range of reactions in the city and across the mortgage industry. The New York Post cited a survey by J.L. Partners claiming that more than 700,000 New Yorkers could flee the city in the aftermath of Mamdani’s election.
In the housing market, the reaction to Mamdani’s election has been mixed, with some predicting chaos and others expecting business as usual.
Tushar Garg, CEO of Flyhomes, thinks commercial investors will change how they look at NYC housing, which could impact brokers and lenders.
“Mamdani’s win is likely to bring a stricter stance on rents and housing affordability, which could slow property turnover and alter behaviors by investors,” Garg told Mortgage Professional America. “We may also see mortgage lenders recalibrate their underwriting and liquidity models to account for longer hold times and tighter margins.
“For wholesale and all-cash lenders, it means adapting to a market where certainty and speed still matter, but regulatory risk and tighter inventory will increasingly dictate how financing strategies are built.”
Garg believes Mamdani’s policies could make sellers more cautious about moving forward and could affect capital flows into the city.
“Sellers may be more cautious, which would tighten supply,” Garg said. “For larger lenders and institutional buyers, the outcome of the election may well influence how capital flows into the city’s housing ecosystem. This could lead to recalibrating risk models for acquisition and changes in pricing and timing strategies.”
Mass exodus of millionaires?
Garg’s thoughts align with comments made by Mark S. Fisher, regional vice president of UNMB Home Loans, to Mortgage Professional America before the election.
“Affluent New Yorkers concerned about the upcoming election—with Zohran Mamdani leading in the polls—are driving a surge in demand for suburban markets within commuting distance to the city,” Fisher said. “Areas like Greenwich, Darien, and New Canaan, Connecticut, are seeing prices climb rapidly as high-income buyers look to relocate in anticipation of potential tax increases and policy changes.”
Compass agents Zach and Heather Harrison noted that pending home sales in Westchester are up approximately 15% from a year ago and 25% from midsummer. They said high-net-worth buyers from Manhattan and Brooklyn are making sight-unseen offers well above the asking price. Local agents have termed the surge the “Mamdani effect.”
The “Mamdani Effect” is taking hold as affluent New Yorkers move fast to secure suburban homes before possible tax shifts. Brokers across Westchester and Connecticut report bidding wars and soaring prices driven by pre-election uncertainty.https://t.co/rAhHR1WsnH
— Mortgage Professional America Magazine (@MPAMagazineUS) November 3, 2025
While there has been talk about a mass exodus of residents if Mamdani won, any evidence of a pre-election selloff doesn’t seem to be impacting the Manhattan market itself.
John Walkup, co-founder of real estate data analytics company UrbanDigs, told Mortgage Professional America that the Manhattan market has remained steady leading into the election.
“Despite lingering uncertainties around the broader economy and the outcome of the mayoral election, Manhattan’s residential market continues to show resilience,” Walkup said. “In October 2025, 1,054 contracts were signed, up from 1,001 in October 2024—a 5.3% year-over-year increase. The data points to steady buyer interest and an underlying confidence that the city’s housing market can hold its ground, regardless of political crosscurrents.”
A resilient Big Apple
Other real estate veterans believe that if there was going to be a dramatic impact on the market, it may have happened earlier this year after Mamdani’s dominant primary victory.
Lindsay Barton Barrett, a broker with Douglas Elliman with more than 20 years of experience, has seen political swings of all kinds in the city, and most haven’t caused major population changes either way.
“In my view, there was a significant reaction back in the summer when he won the primary, but I think at this point it's already priced in,” she told Mortgage Professional America. “Anyone who wasn't going to buy because of whatever changes might be coming has already made that decision. The incremental difference in taxes just isn't going to drive a critical mass of people out of New York City—it hasn't in the past, and I haven't seen anything change since the election discussions started.
“People love to speculate, but at the end of the day, New York is always going to be New York, and people will always want to live here for all sorts of reasons—the mayoralty isn't changing that."
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