New York's Pied-à-Terre Tax Shows No Early Impact on Manhattan Luxury Sales
Manhattan luxury contract signings held steady at 131 in the four weeks after New York enacted a pied-à-terre tax on second homes worth $1 million or more, versus 126 in the same 2025 period, though the tax does not take effect until July 1, 2026.
Manhattan signed 131 contracts for residential properties valued at $4 million and above in the four weeks following New York's May 26 enactment of a pied-à-terre tax, compared with 126 contracts in the same period a year earlier, according to Olshan Realty luxury market reports [1]. The tax, effective July 1, 2026, imposes rates of 4 percent to 6.5 percent on properties with assessed values of $1 million or more during phase one, which runs through June 30, 2028, and is expected to raise $500 million for the city [1][2].
Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced the tax in a video outside 220 Central Park South, where Citadel founder Ken Griffin purchased a penthouse for $238 million, sparking a public dispute with Griffin and raising doubts about Citadel's planned 1.9 million-square-foot office tower at 350 Park Avenue, a partnership with Rudin and Vornado Realty Trust (NYSE: ) [1]. Stuart Saft, a partner at Holland & Knight, said the mayor's public campaign against wealthy owners brought scrutiny the tax might otherwise have avoided, noting that "anybody who has a high income in New York is paying 50 percent of their income in city, state and federal taxes" [1].
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