July 27, 2025
Zohran Mamdani’s surprise win in the NYC mayoral primary has officially shaken up the real estate world—and for good reason. His housing platform is unlike anything we’ve seen in recent city history.
With a promise to invest $100 billion into building 200,000 publicly subsidized, rent-stabilized units over the next decade, Mamdani is going all in on public housing. But the question remains: can this plan actually work in the city that never builds?
Let’s break it down.
Vacancy rates are at a historic low of 1.4%, the lowest since 1968. Median rents hover around $3,400. Homelessness has surged to Great Depression-era levels, with nearly 70% of shelter residents being families. Clearly, something’s got to give.
Mamdani’s plan hits the issue head-on, prioritizing affordability for households earning under $70K. But he’s not relying on tax incentives and private partnerships like previous administrations. He wants the city itself to take the lead—building, funding, and operating new housing directly.
That’s a massive pivot from decades of relying on private developers.
Mamdani is also pledging to freeze rents on all stabilized units for every year he’s in office. It’s a popular promise among renters, especially those struggling with stagnant wages. Critics argue it could tighten inventory even more, as tenants stay put to keep low rents, leaving fewer vacancies for others.
But it’s important to note: rent freezes would only apply to already stabilized units—not new construction. That means it won’t directly discourage development, at least not on paper.
Still, there’s the issue of maintenance. If landlords can’t raise rents, they may delay repairs. That’s a real concern in aging buildings. The plan doesn’t ignore this—Mamdani also wants to double NYCHA’s capital budget, which could help preserve aging public stock. But again, that depends on money and execution.
NYC has never built housing at the scale Mamdani is proposing—especially not in the public sector. From 2010 to 2020, the city added just under 200,000 multifamily units, and only a fraction were truly affordable. Mamdani wants to match that pace—but with deeper affordability and government as the driver.
Could it work? It has elsewhere. Cities like Paris and London have shown it’s possible to scale public housing with the right investment. But New York isn’t Paris. We’ve got unique challenges: fragmented local politics, labor shortages, zoning battles, and slow permitting processes.
It’s not that Mamdani’s plan is unworkable—it’s that it’ll take a whole new level of coordination and political will. And let’s be honest: when has NYC government ever been accused of moving fast?
Here’s what makes Mamdani’s plan worth watching: it doesn’t necessarily kill the private market—it just stops pretending it can solve every problem on its own. By adding a public track focused on lower-income housing while leaving room for market-rate development, the city could finally start building across the full income spectrum.
That’s the kind of balance we haven’t seen in years.
But none of it happens without execution. The plan is bold. It’s necessary. It’s also risky. Whether Mamdani becomes a transformative mayor or just another bold voice lost in City Hall will depend on how quickly and effectively his administration can break ground—and break habits.
Disclaimer: This content is meant for informational purposes only and is not intended to be construed as financial, tax, legal, or insurance advice.
