Justin Ramirez

The Real Deal published a piece this week arguing that tenant rights are deterring investment and prolonging vacancies in New York City. The article features a landlord attorney with a sympathetic anecdote about one rent-stabilized tenant who is allegedly holding up repairs to a dangerous stairwell. It quotes a developer explaining that good cause eviction now adds years to his renovation timeline.

Here's the important part to know right now: the Phase 1 lottery opened December 12, 2025, ran for about two and a half months, and closed February 25, 2026. WELL ahead of schedule, shut down by what officials called overwhelming demand. The response underscored just how badly affordable housing is needed in this city. If you missed it, you missed it, for now - but there are many more units in the pipeline for this development.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani made a lot of promises on the campaign trail, but freezing rent for about a million stabilized-apartment tenants was the one that stuck. He's been in office a few months now, and he's moving fast. The real estate industry is nervous, tenant groups are cautiously optimistic, and everyone is waiting on a board vote that could reshape how rent works in this city for years to come.

New York's luxury market never really slows down and it definitely doesn't play by anyone else's rules. While everyone debates rates, ultra-high-end buyers are making moves, writing big checks, and chasing a very small pool of homes that actually stand out. When something special hits, it does not sit. So far in 2026, the ten most expensive residential closings in the city have totaled well over $350 million.

Now that we're heading into spring, the NYC housing lottery scene is getting very active again. If you've ever thought about applying but weren't sure where you actually fit, this is a good moment to take a closer look. There's a wide mix of buildings open right now, and the reality is that "affordable" in New York covers a much broader range than most people expect.

Walk around Manhattan right now and you'll start noticing something unusual once you look up. Some buildings don't quite sit on the ground the way you expect them to. Upper floors jut out over neighboring properties, entire sections appear to float, and in some cases the building actually gets wider as it rises.

Walk through the Financial District today and you can feel the shift happening in real time. Office workers still stream through the streets during the week, but look up and you will see scaffolding, new window lines, and leasing banners where corporate logos used to hang. Buildings that once emptied out at 6 p.m. are being rebuilt for something entirely different: full-time living.

There are certain properties in New York that quietly shape entire neighborhoods. And then there are the former Watchtower buildings in Brooklyn, which didn’t just shape Brooklyn Heights and DUMBO, they defined them for more than a century.

A prominent 1920s office building at the corner of Eighth Avenue and West 38th Street in the Garment District, 554–568 Eighth Avenue, recently hit the market as a fully vacant property. If you follow New York real estate at all, these days, buildings like this tend to spark the same question: why not turn it into apartments?

Families relocating to Manhattan often start with one big question: Where should we live if schools are a priority? On both sides of Central Park, the Upper West Side and the Upper East Side have long been magnets for families because they offer an unusual concentration of excellent schools within a relatively compact area.

Living in the New York City metro area usually means compromising on space or amenities. But for many, the ultimate "I’ve made it" amenity isn't a doorman or a dishwasher, it’s a swimming pool. Whether you are looking for a morning lap swim or a weekend lounge deck, finding a building with a pool that doesn't cost a fortune is a challenge.

I’ve added Front & York to my ' Condos/Co-ops With Outdoor Pools ' list on Google Maps . Check it out! This is one of the biggest new residential developments in DUMBO, a full-block project at 85 Jay Street , designed by Morris Adjmi Architects. It manages to look both new and contextual, with warehouse-style brickwork, grid windows, and metal detailing that fit right into the area’s industrial streetscape.

A new housing lottery is underway for Ruby Square, a 12-story development in Jamaica, Queens. Designed by Perkins Eastman and developed by BRP Companies, it includes 614 units, of which 185 are slated as “affordable” under the city’s Housing Connect program. But when you dig into the numbers (especially what people actually make in New York) the term “affordable” begins to look like a bait-and-switch.

Since the passage of the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act (HSTPA), landlords and politicians have been crying about lost profits, burdensome regulations, and supposed threats to the market. The narrative is always the same: they claim they can’t afford to maintain buildings anymore, that the new laws are “punishing” owners, and that the city will collapse if they can’t raise rents to whatever level they choose.

Donald Trump’s name used to be shorthand for brass-and-glass Manhattan swagger. Today it’s become, for a surprising number of owners and residents, a headache they’d rather be rid of. The Trump Organization still has a visible presence in New York real estate, but the gilded lettering that once announced “Trump” on dozens of buildings has been peeled off, painted over, hidden, or quietly rebranded across the city.

The Pierre is back in the headlines, and not for its famous parties or hotel suites. This time it’s the residents of the legendary co-op tower on Fifth Avenue who are in open revolt. The reason? A plan to sell the entire building for a jaw-dropping $2 billion . According to The Real Deal , billionaire Howard Lutnick—who owns the penthouse and a big chunk of the co-op shares—has been pushing the idea.

When Sylvester Stallone and Jennifer Flavin purchased their Palm Beach estate in 2020 and later undertook a large-scale redesign, they joined a growing number of high-profile buyers reshaping Florida’s luxury housing market. Their move highlights several ongoing trends in South Florida real estate.

In the wake of the pandemic, a surge of empty offices in Manhattan has triggered a wave of conversions into apartments. City data shows that by early 2025, some 44 projects were under way or planned, potentially creating about 17,400 new homes (mostly studios and one-bedrooms) from surplus office space.

For more than a century, New York City’s co-op apartments have defined the way its most powerful and privileged residents live. From their Gilded Age origins as an alternative to townhouses, to their rise as bastions of exclusivity where celebrities and moguls were famously turned away, co-ops have been as much about social status as shelter.

My first Apartment Spotlight! Here you go: 300 West 135th Street #9F - $799,000 https://streeteasy.com/building/strivers-gardens/9f  This sun-drenched and oversized 2-bedroom, 2-bath condo at Strivers Gardens offers nearly 30 feet of open living and dining space with sweeping east, north, and west views. Easily convertible to a 3-bedroom, the home features a chef’s kitchen with Viking, Bosch, and SubZero appliances, a king-sized primary suite with a custom walk-in closet and en-suite bath, and a spacious second bedroom with a large closet. Located in a full-service, amenity-rich building just steps from St. Nicholas Park and the B/C subway, with a 421a tax abatement in place through 2031.   Another level of convenience is the main entrance to St. Nicholas Park just down the block, which leads - very quickly - to a dog run and walking paths. The best of both worlds!