Mamdani’s affordability revolution stumbled as rent costs soar to record highs

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. ©2026 FOX News Network, LLC. All rights reserved. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Market data provided by Factset. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Legal Statement. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by LSEG. Manhattan Institute expert Adam Lehodey warns Mamdani’s luxury second-home tax proposal could drive wealthy property owners out of New York while doing little to ease the city’s housing crunch. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani rode his promise to make one of America’s most expensive cities more affordable all the way to City Hall. But for New Yorkers hunting for an apartment, rents have never been higher. The citywide median asking rent reached $4,200 in June, up 5% from a year earlier and the highest recorded by StreetEasy since it began tracking the market in 2010. In Manhattan — the most densely populated NYC borough — the median cost of monthly rent climbed 5.1% to $4,965. At the same time, apartments are becoming harder to find. The number of rentals available across the city fell 1.4% from a year ago, while Manhattan saw a 4.4% drop. It was e