NEW YORK − Margaret Flint was 18 when she first moved to Manhattan from her childhood home in Chevy Chase, Maryland, in 1970.
She'd just enrolled at Barnard College, and for about four years, she shared an apartment with a classmate on the Upper West Side. While living in Manhattan, she went to law school and got married. She and her husband moved to the suburbs in the early 1990s.
On Nov. 4, the dayNew York City elected a new mayor, Flint signed a contract to buy a two-bedroom apartment for $1.4 million in the same building she had called home as a Barnard student.
Zohran Mamdani (D-NY) was elected Mayor of New York on Nov. 4, 2025. He was born in Uganda and moved to New York City with his family at the age of 7. He drew historic numbers of South Asian and Muslim voters in the 2025 New York City election to vote for the first time.
Pictured here, Mamdani waves on stage after winning the 2025 New York City Mayoral race, defeating Andrew Cuomo and Curtis Sliwa.
Zohran Mamdani met his wife, Rama Duwaji, on the dating app Hinge, a rival to Tinder and Bumble. The pair got married in early 2025.Duwaji is a Syrian-American illustrator and animator. After the election of Mamdani as New York City Mayor, she is now the city's first Gen Z first lady. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />
Democratic candidate Zohran Mamdani participates in the second New York City mayoral debate with Independent candidate and former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa at LaGuardia Performing Arts Center at LaGuardia Community College in Long Island City, Queens, New York, on Oct. 22, 2025.He drew historic numbers of South Asian and Muslim voters in the 2025 New York City election to vote for the first time.
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Meet Zohran Mamdani, New York City Mayor-elect
That night, thecity elected 34-year-old Zohran Mamdani, a member of theDemocratic Socialists of Americaand New York's firstMuslim and South Asian mayor.
Mamdani, whomPresident Donald Trumphas derided as a "Liddle' Communist," campaigned on the promise of raising taxes on corporations and those earning more $1 million per year to pay for free buses and universal childcare. He also previously advocated for defunding the police, which he abandoned during the mayoral campaign. Mamdani, who has pledged to protect Jewish New Yorkers against hate crimes, also drew criticism for his anti-Zionist views and history of pro-Palestinian activism.
Mamdani's victory in the June Democratic primarywas a strong indication that he would prevail in the general election in the overwhelmingly Democratic city. Soonnews reportsquoted real estate agents in Florida and Connecticut claiming wealthy New Yorkers were looking to flee the metropolis.
Facebook Moms' groups in the city's wealthiestenclaves like the Upper East Sideare full of nervous posts about the city's fate. Would the rich flee? Would crime increase?
However, most people in the Facebook groups indicated they were not moving anywher. And the chatter did not give Flint any pause before she signed on the dotted line.
"People are out of their minds if they think they have to leave the city," Flint, 73, said. "I agree with his policies, and I think that New York should be a place where all sorts of people can live and want to live. And that means that everybody has to pay their fair share."
Flint is not the only affluent person still betting on New York.
A 'false narrative': 'If people were fleeing the city, prices would be falling
AfterMamdani became a household name following his primary winin June, Manhattan rental prices increased year-over-year at twice the rate of inflation. The rate of increase was even higher in the luxury rental market, according to Jonathan Miller, the president of Miller Samuel Real Estate Appraisers & Consultants, and author of the Elliman report.
The overall median rent went up 7.1% to $4,600 from October 2024 to October 2025. The luxury market median rent saw a 20% increase in the same period, going up to $11,995. High earners were undeterred by Mamdani's wide lead in the general election polls through the summer and fall.
The median sales price went up to $1.18 million, a 5.8% year-over-year increase in the third quarter, which is from July to September. In the luxury market, sales prices went up 2.8%. And inventory actually fell 16% in the luxury market from October 2024 to October 2025, indicating that there is no flood of New Yorkers selling their homes and leaving town.
"Sales are rising faster than supply which is why median prices went up 5.8%. If sales are rising faster than inventory, prices generally go up," said Miller. "So if people were fleeing the city, prices would be falling."
The reasons for the increase in sales can be attributed in large part to overall gains in the stock market, the expectations of big Wall Street bonuses and declining mortgage rates.
Mortgage rates for the week ending Nov. 20 averaged 6.2% for a 30-year conventional, down from 6.8% during the same time last year, according to data from Freddie Mac.
"I look at evidence-based data as opposed to anecdotes because the plural of anecdotal is not data, it's just more anecdotes," he said, describing the exodus-from-New York plotline as a "false narrative."
After months of criticizing Mamdani, Trump, a second-generation real estate developer who owns several properties in New York, seemed eager to maintain his ties to the Big Apple after meeting the young politician in the White House on Nov. 21.
During ajoint appearance at the Oval Office, Trump was asked by a reporter if he'd be comfortable living in Mamdani's New York.
"Yeah, I would, I really would, especially after the meeting," said Trump. "We agree on a lot more than I would have thought. I want him to do a great job, and we'll help him do a great job."
Richest New Yorkers far less likely to leave than working and middle-class New Yorkers
The data also supports the conclusions of a 2023 report from the Fiscal Policy Institute, which found that the richest New Yorkers are far less likely to move out of New York than working and middle-class New Yorkers in normal, non-pandemic years.
Most high-earner migration during COVID-19 was due to city dwellers who could work from home and were looking for more space, rather than tax-related reasons.
In fact, the report found that high earning New Yorkers move out of New York State at one-quarter the rate of the rest of the population during typical years.
And when New York's high earners do move, they are more likely to move to other relatively high tax states such as New Jersey and Connecticut.
Ann Cutbill Lenane, an agent for Douglas Elliman, who specializes in the luxury market, said discussions around the potential increase in taxes have cropped up here and there.
"They are talking about it, but they're not saying, 'oh my gosh, I'm not signing this contract,'" said Lenane, who has 40 years of experience in Manhattan and has done $2 billion in sales.
Trump tariffs a bigger factor in buyer hesitancy in New York City
Lenane says she saw bigger buyer hesitancy around Trump's tariffs raising the cost of construction or renovation as raw materials like lumber are often imported.
"What we're having harder time with is apartments that need work because of tariffs and not really having a good sense of what a renovation is going to cost," she said. "They are also worried about the timeframe and I'm finding that to be the biggest challenge."
Matthew Bizzarro, who has more than 23 years of experience selling homes in New York City, echoed Lenane's concern around tariffs.
He said he lost five contracts the week thatTrump announced global tariffson all imports in April because of the uncertainty in the market.
Did any contracts fall through during election week?
"Zero," he said.
Bizzarro said he's seen an exodus before, but this isn't one.
During COVID, he ended up opening an office in Westchester County as people began looking to decamp from the city.
"At one point, I had a hundred listings during COVID, from people just being like, 'just sell it', he said.
None of that is happening now.
"We have 74 contracts right now," he said. From Nov. 1 to Nov. 15, his contract volume is up 32% compared to the same period last year, he said.
Some people who might be sitting on the sidelines are investors who buy building with five to 10 units, he said.
"People who buy apartment buildings want to see if the rent freezes will go into effect," he said, referring to Mamdani's campaign pledge to freeze rents in rent-stabilized apartments. "No one's going to buy a building if you can't make money on it."
A concern about possible increase in crime and loss of services
Jacob Goldman, a Manhattan-based realtor, said he has received a few calls from people concerned about Mamdani and who were thinking of selling.
"But only very few people have done that. There's not a mass exodus right now," he said. "The thing to watch is how will people react to his economic policies. I think it's safe to assume that he's not attracting businesses to New York."
Josie Lee, 59, the owner of a one-bedroom home on the Lower East Side said Mamdani's election was one of the many factors that played into her listing her apartment this summer.
She signed a contract on her 750-square-foot apartment just after the election. The buyer is a New Yorker in his 30s.
Lee, who works in marketing and communications, said she is close to retirement and had been considering a move to a place that would have lush greenery and some more living space.
But Mamdani's primary win persuaded her to speed up the process.
She said she was worried about a possible increase in crime, especially given Mamdani's past rhetoric around defunding the police. She said she fears companies would move away, eroding the tax base and burdening the city residents.
"You keep doing that to the tax base of the city, then it's going run out of money," she said. "Then it creates a cycle of 'we don't have enough money, let's cut services.'"
Lee is now moving to Fishkill, a small city located on the Hudson River, about 90 minutes north of Manhattan.
She said she can still easily go to the city to catch shows, visit museums and meet up with friends.
New York is 'resilient': Buzz around an exodus is a 'lot of talk'
Jill Prink, an urban landscape designer, who has lived in Manhattan for 25 years, will be closing on her first New York City apartment in the next few weeks.
She said the election of the new mayor did not factor into her decision, adding that New York and New Yorkers are "resilient."
Prink said she was excited about renovating her one-bedroom apartment and moving in.
As far as the buzz about people looking to move, she said she is not convinced.
"I view it as a lot of talk," she said. "It's very diverse and international here and people from all over come and live here. If there's some people who don't want, there will be others who do want to be in the city."
Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy is a White House correspondent for USA TODAY.You can follow her on X @SwapnaVenugopal
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Rich aren't fleeing Zohran Mamdani's NYC. Price and demand are up.
