Luxury real-estate brokers say wealthy New Yorkers are already looking to flee after Zohran Mamdanis primary win

Within minutes of Zohran Mamdani clinching the Democratic nomination Tuesday night, real estate agents like Ryan Serhant were flooded with calls from clients looking to walk away from deals to buy apartments in NYC.High-end buyers are now looking to purchase property outside of the city.“My number one job will be moving people from New York to Florida.

Again,” Serhant told me.“Based on the results, clients are going to hold off on making any kind of investment in New York City.”According to a note I reviewed, one client who had made an offer on a Chelsea apartment sent her broker an email minutes after former Governor Cuomo conceded to Zohran Mamdani.

“We are going to take a break from looking until there’s more clarity on the mayoral election,” the client wrote.One Manhattan-based founder who already pays 50% of her income immediately started thinking about moving.“Where can we go?” she asked me.Other New York-based venture capitalists, founders and bankers I spoke with said they’re already looking at properties in far-flung locations like Uruguay and Milan and closer-to-home options, such as Palm Beach, should Mamdani win the general election in November.Florida real estate agents are already seeing a surge in interest.“The amount of lifelong New Yorkers texting me [about a move to Florida] is close to shocking,” Nathan Zeder, a broker who works at the Jills Zeder Group, told me.

The company, which is based in Fort Lauderdale, has sold $1.8 billion worth of real estate in Florida so far this year.“People are frightened and over the next three to four months we’re going to see a lot of people consider South Florida again — it’s going to be a COVID level of interest,” Zeder added.“These are people who can afford to move with relative ease.” Serhant said he’s not resigned to Mamdani winning in November and running the city.This story is part of NYNext, an indispensable insider insight into the innovations, moonshots and po...