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all Street’s earnings have climbed for a second straight year, sparking demand for luxury homes in New York City, the Hamptons, Long Island’s North Shore, and affluent suburbs such as Greenwich, Connecticut. Despite the financial boom, the real‑estate sector is uneasy about the incoming mayor’s rent‑freeze proposal, and some voices claim that wealthy residents are abandoning the city—a claim that data contradicts.
Record compensation and robust market activity on Wall Street have kept the high‑end housing market buoyant across the region. While I typically publish Wall Street updates in March after the fiscal year ends, the mid‑year 2025 figures were striking. In 2024, profits jumped 90 % to $49.9 billion, and the first half of 2025 points to a potential $60 billion record if the current pace persists.
The mayoral race has amplified anxiety. The “freeze rents” platform has sparked a wave of misinformation suggesting that New Yorkers are fleeing. However, the evidence shows the opposite: Manhattan’s housing prices and sales have risen through the first three quarters of 2025. Wealthy buyers are still purchasing high‑end properties in Greenwich, and the Hamptons remain a strong luxury second‑home market. The market’s resilience stems from Wall Street’s prosperity, a widening wealth gap, stagnant mortgage rates, and active financial markets—factors that outweigh any political uncertainty.
If residents truly feared the new mayor, they would likely relocate to a different state rather than commute from Greenwich to New York City. Greenwich’s real‑estate values are tightly linked to the securities industry in Manhattan, and the city’s rent‑freeze policy would not create a compelling reason to move there. Similar exaggerated migration claims circulate in Florida, but the data does not support them.
In short, Wall Street’s continued success is driving high‑end real‑estate demand in Manhattan, the Hamptons, and Greenwich. The real‑estate community’s narrative of a mass exodus is unsupported by market data. Anecdotes cannot replace hard evidence.
StreetMatrix’s Home Value Lock product, highlighted by Josh Altman, leverages our housing‑index platform to provide accurate valuations. We’re excited to have Josh on board.
The latest newsletter contains links to all resources, including a podcast episode with Jonathan Miller titled “How Retail Follows, Not Fuels, Housing.” The episode is available on Apple, Soundcloud, and YouTube.
Previous Housing Notes covered topics such as rent‑freeze impacts, wealth outlooks, wage‑inflation gaps, tariff costs, AI’s effect on real‑estate traffic, hybrid‑work trends, Manhattan’s luxury market, rent dynamics, office‑to‑apartment conversions, high‑profile relocations, and more.
Market reports from Elliman cover sales and rentals across Orange County, Los Angeles, the Hamptons, North Fork, Long Island, St. Petersburg, Miami Beach, West Palm Beach, Weston, Wellington, Vero Beach, Sarasota, Palm Beach, Naples, Lee County, Fort Lauderdale, Delray Beach, Coral Gables, Boca Raton, and Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens rentals for September 2025.
Additional reads include “A ‘Death Train’ Is Haunting South Florida” from The Atlantic.
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