New York City property owners are set to 'enjoy' the first property tax hike in more than two decades as part of a proposed solution by Mayor Zohran Mamdani to fill a roughly $5 billion budget gap, Bloomberg reports.
"He’s put a pretty extreme option on the table,which is a combination of raising property taxes and taking money from reservesand relying on some pretty aggressive revenue projectionsto boot," said NYC Comptroller Mark Levine.
The pitch, set to be unveiled Tuesday afternoon during Mamdani's preliminary budget proposal, comes one day after Governor Kathy Hochul vowed to kick in another $1.5 billion in additional aid to the city for the current fiscal year and next. Hochul has also committed $510 million for future years to help plug holes in the budget.
Mamdani says that the state should step up even more. Last week, he called on state lawmakers Wednesday to approve a 2 percent personal income tax increase on the city’s wealthiest residents as well as a hike in the corporate tax rate in a bid to close a multibillion-dollar budget gap. Of note, Hochul and the legislature must approve any tax changes.
While Mamdani is handcuffed in many ways when it comes to raising revenue, raising property taxes is something he can do as part of the annual budget process. Homeowners, meanwhile, just had their assessed values jump 5.6%, which will bring the city an additional $325.8 billion - which is separate of Mamdani's plan.
Mamdani’s own rhetoric about the size and scope of the city’s budget situation has shifted. Earlier this month, just two weeks after describing the city’s $12.6 billion budget deficit as the city’s largest since the Great Recession, Mamdani revealed the hole had actually shrunk by $5 billion, because of higher tax revenue, propelled by personal income tax growth and Wall Street bonuses.
Even threatening to raise property taxes could prove a political lightning rod for Mamdani, after campaigning to reform that system, which has been criticized for overburdening lower- and middle-income residents. The last time the city increased property tax rates was under former Mayor Michael Bloomberg in the early 2000s. -Bloomberg
Meanwhile last monthMamdani said NYC is facing a $12.6 billion deficit over the next two years, which he blamed on his predecessor, Mayor Eric Adams, whose administration he says underbudgeted for various expenses such as cash assistance, rental assistance for homeless residents, special education and overtime costs. In FY 2025, NYC took in over $33 billion in property tax revenue.
Mamdani during his campaign promoted progressive reforms to fund proposals such as free public transit, rent stabilization and housing programs, universal child care, and a $30 minimum wage, leading to his upset win over more moderate Democrats.
He called for a 2 percent surcharge on high earners on the campaign trail.
Estimates suggested it could create approximately $4 billion annually to support increased public services and affordability programs, as well as offset costs for broad social investments while not saddling middle- and low-income residents.
US lenders are poised to see new mortgage-loan requirements as the Federal Reserve comes closer to unveiling a long-awaited bank capital proposal tied to Basel III.
Michelle Bowman, the Fed’s top bank cop, said parts of that new measure related to residential real estate would consider increasing the “risk sensitivity” of capital requirements for mortgage loans on bank books. One approach would be to use loan-to-value ratios to determine the applicable risk weight for residential real estate exposures, rather than applying a uniform risk weight.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s “rental ripoff” hearings will ban testimony from public housing tenants — even though the government agency running the units is routinely called the “worst” in the five boroughs.
The democratic socialist’s administration will host its first complaint session on Feb. 26, but the much-touted program will only focus on renters and landlords in privately owned buildings and not the half a million tenants of the New York City Housing Authority.
Property owners fumed about the city dodging questions about the public units while also encouraging tenants in private property to attend the sessions to testify about landlord abuses such as “rental junk fees” for amenities including keeping pets.
“The city’s own tenants—those living in public housing—are demanding a real plan to improve their living conditions,” said Humberto Lopes, CEO of Gotham Housing Alliance. “It appears the Mamdani administration woke up to their own hypocrisy.
“If these hearings were truly about holding bad landlords accountable, the over 500,000 residents in NYCHA would be able to meaningfully participate,” Lopes added. “This is clearly the city trying to distract from its own failures while putting on a show, instead of having a real conversation with property owners, renters, NYCHA residents, and everyone else about how to improve housing for all.”
Mamdani’s team was forced to address the slight, quietly updating a message on the city’s website to include a Q&A answering “Are these hearings for NYCHA residents too?”
“While these hearings focus on price gouging and living conditions for private-market renters, senior leadership and staff from NYCHA will be on-site to ensure that residents can submit in-apartment repair requests, file heat/hot water complaints, or discuss development-wide issues,” the updated note said.
“In the coming months, our administration will release a housing plan focused on improving housing quality for all New Yorkers, including those in public housing.”
Mamdani defended focusing the hearings solely on privately-owned apartments.
“So we are going to be approaching the housing crisis in a wide variety of ways. One of those are these rental rip off hearings,” Mamdani told reporters Sunday at an unrelated event on Coney Island.
The Mamdani administration is encouraging New Yorkers to complain about things like “rental junk fees.”Instagram/zohrankmamdani
Hizzoner also blamed the federal government for disinvesting in NYCHA, which requires a staggering $80 billion in capital improvements.
“We will also continue to work with NYCHA residents to ensure that they are being delivered the quality of service they’ve long been denied,” Mamdani said. “And while we know that so much of the reason that NYCHA residents are living through a system that requires around $80 billion of capital improvements. By last count, is a lack of commitment from the federal government.”
But Lopez and other critics said the hearings that focus only on privately-owned apartment buildings is just one example of Mamdani’s misguided housing policy and ideology, which includes wanting the city Rent Guidelines Board to freeze the rent on the city’s nearly 1 million rent-regulated apartments.
Cea Weaver, his director of the Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants, has come under fire for past statements that disparaged home ownership as a “weapon of white supremacy” and calling on the government to “seize private property.”
Cea Weaver, the director of the Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants, has called home ownership a “weapon of white supremacy.”James Messerschmidt for NY Post
“Impoverish the white middle class. Homeownership is racist/failed public policy,” she once said.
“Elect more communists,” Weaver also said.
Mamdani’s hearings will include the Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants, the Department of Housing Preservation and Development, the Department of Buildings, and the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, according to the mayor’s website.
Other agencies such as NYCHA will also be available but only “to provide resources.”
“Big theme parks can boost local real estate demand by creating jobs, attracting workers and tourists, and drawing investor interest,” says Jiayi Xu, economist at Realtor.com®.
“They often push up nearby property prices, encourage development of short-term rentals and hospitality projects, and support broader economic growth that sustains housing demand.”
In 2024, the Anaheim City Council unanimously approved DisneylandForward, a ten-year plan to modernize development rules for Disneyland Resort.
This cleared the way for new theme park, retail, and parking expansions—all within Disney’s existing 500-acre Anaheim footprint, with no additional land purchases.
“Disneyland has always been landlocked, and this is a well thought out plan basically utilizing every square inch of the land they’re expanding onto,” Dennis Speigel, chief executive and founder of International Theme Park Services, a consulting and amusement park management firm, tells Realtor.com.
Disneyland in Anaheim, California, is expanding its footprint.GC Images
“It’s well done, well laid out, and it’s going to be well executed.”
A Disneyland representative tells Realtor.com that a new parking structure and three new Disney California Adventure attractions are in the works.
“The approved DisneylandForward expansion is expected to generate additional jobs and commercial activity, which could increase housing demand and put further upward pressure on prices, particularly in nearby neighborhoods,” says Xu.
As of January 2026, the median listing price in Anaheim was about $912,000, roughly 45% higher than six years ago, compared with about 27% growth statewide over the same period.
As of January 2026, the median listing price in Anaheim, California, was about $912,000.Nancy Pauwels – stock.adobe.com
“Housing conditions in Anaheim have strengthened notably in recent years, with prices rising faster than many parts of the state,” says Xu.
“Limited supply, the city’s strong tourism and employment base and investor interest have all contributed to price gains.”
As part of the DisneylandForward initiative, Disney agreed to contribute $30 million to fund affordable housing projects in Anaheim within the first five years.
“Disney’s expansion, along with their commitment to $30 million for affordable housing, is likely to have a huge impact on the area,” says Orange County real estate agent Cara Ameer.
“They want to provide more affordable rental housing for their area workforce, as well as down payment assistance programs for first-time buyers. This will create a lot of interest and demand for people who want to live or who are already living in the area.”
There have been rumors circulating that Disney will build a third park in the current Downtown Disney area, but they haven’t been confirmed.
Speigel says, “I have heard the rumors. If they have that ability, it’s the right thing to be thinking about. Disneyland just celebrated 70 years. It is time in the longevity and evolution of their existence to think about another park. I wouldn’t be surprised if it happens.”
What’s going on in Orlando
Following a high-profile dispute with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis that concluded in 2024, Disney won approval to move forward with a sweeping 15-year expansion of the 25,000-acre resort in Orlando, representing $17 billion in planned investment at Walt Disney World.
The expansion would add nearly 14,000 hotel rooms, 270,000 square feet of retail and dining space, a new major theme park, and two smaller parks.
Disney won approval to move forward with a sweeping 15-year expansion of the 25,000-acre resort in Orlando, Florida, representing $17 billion in planned investment at Walt Disney World.REUTERS
Josh Higgins, communications manager of Walt Disney World Public Affairs, tells Realtor.com that many new attractions are currently in development, including Villains Land, Cars Land, and Monsters Inc. Land.
“Disney’s development will have a strong positive impact on the broader Central Florida real estate market,” Orlando Regional Realtor® Association President Chris Atwell tells Realtor.com.
“Workers together with their families will stimulate demand for housing, entertainment, and retail.”
Disney is also scooping up nearby properties, including a $19.4 million office building in Celebration, FL, it purchased last year.
As Disney continues to invest in the area, Xu says, “housing demand in Orlando has stayed solid, largely supported by its tourism-driven economy.”
“Texas has a huge population,” says Speigel. “It’s very close to Dallas, and Dallas has always been a good market for leisure. That’s where Six Flags started.”
According to Xu, housing demand in Frisco has surged alongside population and job growth, with the median listing price in January 2026 at about $695,000—roughly 39% higher than six years ago, outpacing the Texas statewide increase of 23%.
“Upcoming attractions like the Universal Kids Resort are expected to further support this demand, particularly for rental and investor-owned properties,” Xu adds.
Real estate agent Todd Luong, of Re/Max in Frisco, tells Realtor.com that locals are already buzzing about the theme park.
“On the positive side, families and homebuyers are definitely talking about the resort as a unique attraction that sets this area apart,” Luong says.
“It will definitely draw more visitors and provide additional entertainment options for the local residents here. However, there are a lot of questions about how all this will change things here in town, like the potential traffic increases and the added congestion.”
Luong says he thinks the resort has the potential to be a big positive in the long run for Frisco’s real estate market.
“It will boost Frisco’s profile nationally, supporting tourism, and could help sustain demand for housing, especially with families who want local access to entertainment and amenities. It may also increase the demand for short-term rental investment properties near the resort.”
