Florida has emerged as an unlikely winner from New York City's mayoral primary race, which marked the triumph of Zohran Mamdani, as wealthy investors scared off by the young left-wing candidate's ideas seem set to look for better opportunities in the South.
Real estate professionals are the first to believe that the Sunshine State will reap huge benefits from Mamdani's victory. Mere hours after the primary election's results, some were already reporting a surge in interest for Florida properties among New York City-based investors.
"We saw an immediate spike in interest," Isaac Toledano, CEO & Co-founder of BH Group, one of South Florida's most active luxury developers, told Newsweek. "Within a day of the primary results, we had serious inquiries from buyers in Manhattan and Connecticut. One asked about the Ritz-Carlton Residences in West Palm Beach, the other about the West Pompano Beach Hotel & Residences."
"The moment that some New Yorkers saw the victory, our Realtors began to receive more calls and inquiries," Alfredo Pujol, Miami Association of Realtors' chairman-elect of the board of directors, told Newsweek.
"We have already benefited from consistent interest from high-net-worth buyers relocating from New York to Florida, and any added uncertainty, whether political or economic, tends to accelerate that trend—especially given the unique characteristics of the South Florida market," he said.
"We've seen more interest, especially from clients who were already keeping an eye on Florida. Mamdani's victory seems to have accelerated those conversations," Peggy Olin, CEO of OneWorld Properties, an expert leading sales and marketing for some of South Florida's top luxury towers, told Newsweek.
"People are asking more questions about timing, taxes, and long-term lifestyle changes. It's less about panic and more about planning. They're being proactive."
