Now that New York City Democrats have nominated radical socialist Zohran Mamdani for the mayoral race, the election will command nationwide attention.
In the meantime, those who can afford to flee the city appear poised to do so.
According to the New York Post, Mamdani’s victory over former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic Party’s mayoral primary on Tuesday sent shockwaves through the city’s luxury real estate industry.
Nathan Zeder, a broker based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, described the level of panic.
“The amount of lifelong New Yorkers texting me [about a move to Florida] is close to shocking,” Zeder said.
“People are frightened and over the next three to four months, we’re going to see a lot of people consider South Florida again — it’s going to be a COVID level of interest,” he added. “These are people who can afford to move with relative ease.”
Meanwhile, New York City real estate agents have already seen interest diminish among prospective buyers.
“We are going to take a break from looking until there’s more clarity on the mayoral election,” one client wrote to her broker shortly after Cuomo conceded.
Indeed, real estate agent Ryan Serhant expects that his immediate future will involve facilitating the exodus.
Will Zohran Mamdani win the general election in November?
“My number one job will be moving people from New York to Florida. Again,” Serhant said. “Based on the results, clients are going to hold off on making any kind of investment in New York City.”
What accounts for so much fear?
Well, Mamdani himself has already declared war on wealth and the free market.
For instance, in a clip posted to the social media platform X, the Democrats’ new mayoral nominee pledged to lower grocery prices by building government-owned grocery stores.
“We will redirect city funds from corporate supermarkets to city-owned grocery stores,” Mamdani said.
“These stores will operate without a profit motive,” he added moments later, “or having to pay property taxes or rent, and will pass on those savings to you.”
I don’t say this lightly:
Zohran Mamdani’s proposal for New York City to drive down food prices by having the city run its own grocery stores is the most economically delusional thing I’ve seen in a long time.
What planet do these people live on? pic.twitter.com/imdKGpZegp
— Austen Allred (@Austen) June 24, 2025
Enjoy your bread lines, New Yorkers!
Worse yet, if any proposal could bring famine conditions to a modern metropolis, Mamdani’s could.
Here, too, is a clip of the mayoral nominee on “The Breakfast Club” podcast explaining that he plans to raise the city’s corporate tax rate and apply it to any corporation that does business in the city, regardless of where its headquarters are located, while at the same time imposing a 2 percent tax increase on anyone earning more than $1 million per year:
New York is FINISHED 🚨
Zohran Mamdani plans on making new laws saying IT DOESN’T MATTER WHERE COMPANIES ARE HEADQUARTERED, if you do business in New York THEY MUST PAY HIS NEW INCREASED CORPORATE TAX RATE
Businesses CAN’T RELOCATE to lower taxed states to save money
“What… pic.twitter.com/VfFH2eVEnP
— Wall Street Apes (@WallStreetApes) June 26, 2025
Surely a man with a plan so obviously calculated to destroy the city cannot win, right?
Well, according to Newsweek, as of Thursday morning, one bookmaker had established Mamdani as the 1/4 favorite. Incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, who is seeking reelection as an independent, comes in second with 7/2 odds. That means the bookmaker has given Mamdani an 80 percent chance to win the election.
On the other hand, the socialist’s ultimate victory hardly qualifies as a foregone conclusion.
For one thing, according to the Associated Press, Mamdani won the primary with only 43.5 percent of the vote.
Thus, Adams’ presence in the race will give those 57 percent of non-Mamdani voters a viable alternative.
Second, in light of how the ultra-wealthy have already reacted, one can only imagine the amount of money they will pour into the campaign of Adams or whoever they deem best equipped to prevent Mamdani from winning.
Until then, however, the New York City real estate market looks bleak indeed.
Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. Advertise Today.
