The five stages of grief are denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance.
Many of New York City’s real estate players are likely working their way through these stages after Zohran Mamdani’s victory in the mayoral election this week.
The Democratic socialist from Queens ran on promises of a four-year rent freeze, higher taxes for the wealthy and tougher enforcement against “bad landlords.” Now that he’s headed to Gracie Mansion, developers, landlords and brokers alike are starting to figure out what life under Mayor Mamdani might actually look like.
In his victory speech, Mamdani struck a confident but measured tone, positioning his win as part of a broader push to make the city more equitable. He framed housing as central to that effort and signaled that, while his agenda would challenge the status quo, he intended to work with business leaders and city officials to get results.
Some in the industry have accepted the results and are ready to adapt rather than resist. REBNY’s Jim Whelan congratulated the mayor-elect and pledged to work with his administration. Hudson Companies’ David Kramer noted that, despite early panic, Mamdani’s decision to bring former deputy mayor Maria Torres-Springer onto his transition team could signal a pragmatic streak.
Others are less reassured. Small property owners warned that a rent freeze could trigger financial distress for aging buildings, while developers say the city’s housing targets will be impossible without revisiting tax tools like 485x. Lenders, too, are watching closely, as uncertainty around rent regulation could further chill a development pipeline already slowed by high interest rates.
Reactions to the mayor’s historic victory also created some fallout. Within hours of the election, JLL made headlines after firing top broker Scott Panzer for comparing Mamdani to Hitler and making comments viewed as Islamophobic in an office-wide email. It was a stark example of how charged the political climate has become and how parts of the industry are still reeling from the power shift Mamdani’s win represents.
On the residential side, agents in New York are pushing back on the panic narrative, dismissing what one Serhant broker called “nonsense from Florida brokers” and arguing that talk of a mass exodus of wealthy New Yorkers is overblown
Still, in South Florida, the chatter tells a different story. At The Real Deal’s Miami Real Estate Forum, developers Ugo Colombo and Camilo Miguel Jr. said Mamdani’s win has already sparked a fresh wave of interest from New York buyers. Not the Covid-era deluge, but enough to notice. Hospitality mogul Sam Nazarian was less focused on who’s moving and more on what Miami can handle, calling it one of the world’s top real estate cities but one still plagued by permitting delays and infrastructure bottlenecks.
Between New York’s incoming mayor and Miami’s growing pains, the country’s two most-watched real estate markets are entering new phases. What that looks like will depend on how quickly Mamdani can prove his critics wrong and whether his promises on affordability translate into more housing.
Either way, we’ll be keeping a close eye on what happens next.
There was plenty of other real estate news this week. We have highlights from TRD’s Miami Forum, Mark Nussbaum faces a $400 million reckoning and GVA’s Alan Stalcup is accused of “cooking the books.” These stories and more below.
Creditors seek at least $400M from Mark Nussbaum’s former law firms
Embattled New York attorney Mark Nussbaum is facing a $400 million reckoning, as creditors move to collect on claims tied to his shuttered law firms and a spiraling network of failed real estate ventures. Court filings reveal that Nussbaum’s former firms are being liquidated through an assignment for the benefit of creditors, an alternative to bankruptcy, to untangle missing records and trace assets.
GVA and Alan Stalcup “cooking the books,” lawsuit alleges
A new lawsuit filed in Texas state court accuses syndicator Alan Stalcup of “cooking the books” at his company GVA, packaging bad debt as assets and bonds. The plaintiffs accuse Stalcup, his wife Loren and GVA’s former vice president David Graham Bass of an “egregious criminal pattern of fraud, theft, and deceit.”
What brokers want: Elliman’s Liebowitz, Side’s Gal sound off on resi shakeups
Douglas Elliman’s Michael Liebowitz and Side’s Guy Gal had a lively exchange at TRD’s Miami Real Estate Forum on Compass’ planned $1.6 billion takeover of Anywhere Real Estate, warning the merger could drive agents to the exits. Both questioned the National Association of Realtors’ handling of commission lawsuits, calling the shakeup a reckoning for the industry.
Toby Moskovits and Michael Lichtenstein charged with PPP fraud
Former Brooklyn developers Toby Moskovits and Michael Lichtenstein have been charged with fraudulently trying to obtain $5 million in federal pandemic relief loans. Federal prosecutors in Manhattan allege the pair diverted PPP and EIDL funds meant for payroll and business operations to pay off lawyers, architects and even a hat shop.
As Moshe Silber’s real estate empire crumbles, bondholders search for their $200M
Once a rising real estate mogul with a $1.3 billion empire, Moshe Silber has seen his fortune vanish and his bondholders scrambling to recover $200 million that’s gone missing. The 32-year-old developer raised the funds through unsecured bonds under his firm Crown Capital Holdings, sold by Piper Sandler to banks and life insurers — money that was supposed to bankroll Section 8 housing deals but now appears untraceable.
Jim Letchinger gears up for his largest project yet
Jim Letchinger, whose JDL Development is arguably the biggest developer in Chicago, is gearing up for the biggest project of his career with the turnaround of the troubled Lincoln Yards as the city’s megaproject engine revs toward recovery. The project, as famous for being huge as for being stalled, has been a political and financial disaster.
Agents in LA embrace new roles as fire rebuild picks up
The fires were devastating, but it was after the flames were tamed that all hell broke loose. Government leaders scrambled for a game plan, inflamed residents pointed fingers, onlookers added their two cents, insurance was a terror, tariffs took on a new toll and opportunists entered the picture. Between the recovery, the outrage and the concern, the real estate industry in the region has settled into a new role.
A Texas broker known for discretion tried out online virality. Will it lead to sales?
How else could these three characters have ended up in one room except as part of a social media stunt to sell a hacienda in the Texas Hill Country? There was Kai Cenat, the most popular entertainer on streaming platform Twitch; Tony Parker, French-American MVP of the legendary 2000s-era San Antonio Spurs lineup; and Erwin Nicholas II, better known as Mr. Real Estate.
Ken Griffin’s private yacht marina, Aman Miami Beach approved
A trio of billionaires received good news from the Miami Beach Planning Board on Tuesday. The board approved items related to hedge fund manager Ken Griffin’s private yacht marina on Terminal Island, and tweaks to Vlad Doronin and Len Blavatnik’s Aman Miami Beach development.
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