Real estate expert warns NYC pied-à-terre tax could further fuel Florida

Homeowners across New York City now have an extra month to prove their primary residency and avoid Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s new pied-à-terre tax, an extension triggered by mass confusion over a publicly posted tax roll.

But as the city tries to address problems with the rollout, real estate leaders caution that targeting high earners could ultimately backfire on working-class New Yorkers if revenue shifts out of state.

“Policymakers need to be honest about the trade-offs and what drives the local economy,” Aria Development Group founding partner David Arditi told Fox News Digital, warning that if high-earning taxpayers leave, “it doesn’t just hit the people who left, it shows up much more prominently in the budget of those who will stay behind.”

“Every city that leans this heavily on a small group of high earners has to reckon eventually with this possibility. New York still continues to have real staying power, but we’re clearly in a moment where that’s being tested,” he continued.

CUOMO SOUNDS ALARM ON NEW YORK EXODUS: ‘DON’T CHASE PEOPLE OUT’ TO SOUTHERN STATES

Last week, New York City’s Department of Finance (DOF) published an extensive public real estate roll containing full names and addresses for more than 960,000 properties across the five boroughs in connection with the state’s new non-primary residence tax.

Zohran Mamdani, mayor of New York, speaks to members of the media on July 7, 2026. (Getty Images)

The pied-à-terre tax — approved by state lawmakers in May under Gov. Kathy Hochul — targets non-primary residences valued above $5 million, along with condos or co-ops valued at $1 million or more, with original estimates projecting 13,000 to 31,000 properties would be affected.

“That’s the difference between precision and accuracy. I would expect some inefficiency rolling out any municipal initiative at this scale,” Arditi said. “But when your list comes in 30 times bigger than what was estimated, city officials need to give homeowners real clarity on who’s actually impacted and why.”

Several high-profile public figures, celebrities and local politicians were included in Mamdani’s pied-à-terre target list, including U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, President Donald Trump’s niece Mary L. Trump, film director Woody Allen, longtime Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour, actress Cynthia Nixon, New York City Councilwoman Gale Brewer and Staten Island City Councilman Joe Carr.

“I’ll leave the security implications to the experts, but I can tell you, since talk of this tax started earlier this year, I’ve had no shortage of conversations with people who were…