The Daily Dirt: Here are the real estate issues on the ballot today

The housing policy questions ahead, as the presidential race draws to a close

Housing Major Issue in 2024 Presidential Race
Kamala Harris and Donald Trump (Getty)

Housing was a major issue of the presidential election campaign. Now what?

Both candidates vowed to make it easier for developers to build, voicing support for construction on underutilized federal land. Vice President Kamala Harris also wants to build upon a program under the Biden administration that provides grant money to localities that implement “innovative strategies to expand the housing supply.”

But other proposals, including the creation of a new tax credit to incentivize the construction of starter homes, would, of course, rely on congressional action.

Here are some of the top real estate-related issues I’m thinking about as we await election results (in both federal and local races): 

— Provisions of the 2017 tax law expire at the end of 2025. How will deductions on pass-through entities, Opportunity Zones, 1031 exchanges, the cap on state and local tax deductions and corporate tax rates fare?  

— Will Congress pick up Harris’ proposal to implement temporary rent control? 

— Legislation to expand low-income housing tax credits has previously gained bipartisan support, but has failed to move forward. As Congress debates broader tax policy, will this be the year that this program is expanded? Will Congress take other actions aimed at bolstering use of such credits?

— If Donald Trump wins, will any familiar faces in the real estate industry get cabinet positions? Cantor Fitzgerald’s Howard Lutnick has been floated as a potential contender for Secretary of Treasury.

— Trump has promised mass deportations of undocumented immigrants as a solution to rising housing prices. But economists say immigrants have not contributed significantly to housing costs, and that deportations could exacerbate construction labor shortages. 

— Will Democrats hold onto their supermajority in the state legislature? As noted by the New York Times, Democrats have not yet used this authority to override gubernatorial vetoes. But losing the ability to do so could deflate more progressive initiatives.  

What we’re thinking about: The election is all-consuming. What state races are you watching? Send a note to kathryn@therealdeal.com.

A thing we’ve learned: Portland International Airport has a therapy llama and alpaca, according to NPR. Their names, respectively, are Beni and Captain Jack, and their presence at the airport is part of an overall effort to make travel at the airport less stressful. I feel like we could all use a therapy llama this week.   

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Elsewhere in New York…

— Nearly half a million more New Yorkers voted early this year compared to the same nine-day period in 2020,  the Times Union reports. More than 2.98 million people (not including mail-in ballots) voted early this year, while 2.51 million voted in 2020, according to unofficial numbers released Monday by the state Board of Elections.

— Mayor Eric Adams on Monday signed legislation that requires hotel operators to obtain licenses. The measure exempts hotels with fewer than 100 rooms from requirements for hotels to directly employ all of their core staff.

— Technology workers at the New York Times went on strike on Monday, the Wall Street Journal reports. “We have been sounding the alarm for weeks and cleared our schedules to get this contract done before the election week deadline,” said Susan DeCarava, president of the NewsGuild of New York. “We’re disheartened that the Times is willing to gamble with its election coverage to avoid agreeing to a fair and just contract.” The Times responded that while it respects “the union’s right to engage in protected actions, we’re disappointed that colleagues would strike at this time, which is both unnecessary and at odds with our mission.”

Closing Time

Residential: The priciest residential sale Monday was $5.6 million at 305 East 61st Street. The Lenox Hill condo unit is new construction and 2,000 square feet. Corcoran Sunshine Marketing Group’s Lawrence Kruysman has the sale.

Commercial: The largest commercial sale of the day was $6.1 million for an apartment building at 712 West 176 Street. The Hudson Heights property is five stories and has 40 units.

New to the Market: The highest price for a residential property hitting the market was $20 million at 340 West 23rd Street. The townhouse is 9,500 square feet and is three stories. Sotheby’s International Realty has the listing.

Breaking Ground: The largest new building application filed was a proposed 69,192-square-foot, four-story school facility at 613 Beach 9th Street in Queens. The applicant on file is Fariba Makooi of Fischer Makooi Architects. — Joseph Jungermann

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