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New York City's wealthiest residents continue to clash with Mayor Zohran Mamdani over real estate. A cabinet secretary, President Trump's niece and an Oscar-nominated director have emerged on a list as potential targets of the new tax on luxury pieds-à-terre, James Fanelli, Rebecca Picciotto and Greta Reich report.
Steven Fulop of business group Partnership for New York City said the public list of potential names seemed like a tool to shame certain individuals. The mayor's office said the release of the list was required by state law.
The city has also begun sending out notifications to homeowners that they might be subject to the new tax. The rollout has been messy so far. Some New Yorkers say they are being falsely targeted, and that the process for proving that a property isn't subject to the tax is difficult, Lily and Greta report.
And in Indiana, a group of college students run their own real-estate investment fund like pros. Unlike many college investment clubs that deploy university money or rely on donations, the Indiana group raises funds from third parties and invests in properties across the country, such as apartment developments and industrial parks, Lily reports.
New York Fires Warning Shot With List of Potential Pied-à-Terre Tax Targets
The Mamdani administration published an online list of property owners that it is using to determine who might be subject to the surcharge on luxury second homes.
The release of the list was required by state law and includes most residential properties in the city. Only "a very small fraction" of property owners will be notified by mail that the levy may affect them, Mamdani said. Still, the release of the list rattled the city's elite and threatened to stir up existing tensions.
Homeowners Say Mamdani's New Tax Rollout Wrongly Targets Them
Bob Ohlerking has lived in his Park Slope brownstone for 55 years. So he was surprised on Monday when he received a notice from the city claiming that the Brooklyn home might not be his primary residence and could be subject to a new tax championed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
The tax is meant to apply to people who maintain second homes in New York City that are worth $5 million or more. But the rollout has been messy so far. Some New Yorkers say they are being falsely targeted, and that the process for proving that a property shouldn't be subject to the tax is difficult.
The estimated amount that Bob Ohlerking would have to pay for his Brooklyn townhouse under the city's new pied-à-terre tax, though he says he has lived in the home for 55 years.
This High-Powered Real-Estate Fund Is Run by College Students
On a recent summer Sunday afternoon, Brooks Hiller was hunkered over his laptop at his apartment in Chicago, dialing in to hour three of a marathon series of conference calls on real estate deals.
The 21-year-old isn't a professional, and he doesn't make a dime from this work. He is a rising senior at Indiana University's Kelley School of Business, where he leads a team of 20 undergraduates who manage about $12 million in equity.
Data Points
-- 4%: The drop in New York's share of the nation's millionaire households
from 2010 to 2022, according to a new analysis by the Citizens Budget
Commission. It was one of the sharpest declines of any major state.
-- $233.6 billion: The total investment sales in U.S. commercial real estate
in the first half of this year, a 14.7% jump from the same period last
year, according to Avison Young. It was the strongest first half of the
year since 2022.
Beyond WSJ
-- Trump Administration Drafting Ban on Chinese Data Center Devices, Sources
Say (Reuters)
-- 'Wealth Attracts Wealth': A Wave of Family Offices Arrives in Miami (The
New York Times)
-- Onyx Partners Takes Another Swing at Buying National J.C. Penney
Portfolio (CoStar)
About Us
Craig Karmin is real estate news bureau chief. Reach him on X @CraigKarmin or via email at Craig.Karmin@wsj.com. The newsletter is compiled and edited by Kate King and Rebecca Picciotto (rebecca.picciotto@wsj.com), WSJ real estate reporters. Reach them via email at kate.king@wsj.com and rebecca.picciotto@wsj.com. Got a tip for us? Here's how to submit.
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