Summer 2026 NYC luxury market: buyers held firm despite the pied-à-terre tax

The numbers: Between June 21 and September 22, 3,386 apartments and townhouses went into contract, with a combined $6.4 billion in last asking prices.

• Volume sat at the top. The median contract was about $1.2M. Just 40 deals at $10M+ made up more than 10% of total dollar volume.
• Condos led. They were fewer than half of all signings but 60% of the dollars.
• The pace dipped, then picked up. Weekly volume fell from about $600M in early July to about $300M by Labor Day, then rebounded in mid-September.
• What sold best: developments that cut prices, and historic landmarks converted to condos, like the Flatiron Building and the Emmet Building. Some of those outsold new construction.

The second-home tax:

• What it is: Since May 28, 2026, non-primary residences pay an annual surcharge. It applies to condos and co-ops the city assesses at $1M+ and to 1–3 family houses above $5M. The state projects it could raise nearly $500M a year.
• A messy rollout: About 17,000 owners got warning letters, compared with the roughly 10,000 properties the Governor had estimated. A court briefly halted enforcement in August before that order was stayed. The response deadline is now October 6.
• The industry view: The $1M assessed-value threshold is meant to match roughly $5M in market value. Critics say it's a rough fit that also catches some cheaper homes. The tax is also harder to price into a deal than the one-time mansion tax, because buyers can't tell how many years they'll pay it.
• Leases are shifting: The tax depends on how a home is used, not who owns it. Landlords now ask tenants to certify primary residency or cover the tax themselves.

The bottom line: The top of the market held up. There were 212 contracts at $5M+, only about 6% of deals but nearly 30% of the dollars. Their share of deals grew from 5.5% in late June to 7.6% in September. The tax gives discretionary buyers a reason to pause, but committed buyers are paying it and moving ahead.