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ohran Mamdani's potential mayoral win in New York City could have significant implications for the city's real estate market. His campaign promises to raise taxes on corporations and high-income earners, implement free childcare, and increase the minimum wage to $30 an hour by 2030. Additionally, he plans to build 200,000 new units of "permanently affordable, union-built, rent-stabilized homes" within a decade, while freezing rents for all rent-stabilized tenants immediately.

    Investors are already reevaluating the city's market following Mamdani's primary win, according to Pierre Debbas, managing partner at Romer Debbas. The New York City real estate market had a strong start to the year but has since slowed down significantly, with some attributing this to election uncertainty.

    Debbas believes that if a socialist mayor is elected, it will be detrimental to the long-term health of the local economy and the real estate industry. He notes that individuals and businesses have been leaving New York City in search of friendlier business climates with lower taxes since the pandemic, and this trend could accelerate if Mamdani wins.

    Debbas also expressed concerns about Mamdani's rent freeze proposal, which he believes would create distress in the real estate markets. He argues that this would set the stage for the government to take over distressed properties, a move he sees as a form of communism. Debbas warns that subjecting the city's economy, built on hard work and talent, to communist policies would be "absolutely catastrophic."