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New York City's mansion tax impacts housing cost

Manhattan sunset, seen in September from Arthur Ashe Stadium in Queens, home of the U.S. Open. Photo: TPN/Getty Images

The average price of a Manhattan co-op or condo fell to $1.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2019, according to Douglass Elliman, the largest real estate brokerage in the New York City area, the Financial Times reports.

Why it matters: "The Manhattan property drop is in sharp contrast to the rally on Wall Street, where stock markets have hit new records."

  • The price per square foot declined 6.1 per cent to $1,581.

What's happening: New York City's mansion tax, which took effect July 1, "levied a sliding scale of charges on apartments selling for more than $1m."

  • "Trump’s tax law limited the amount of state and local taxes households could deduct from their federal taxes."
  • That "has been blamed for spurring a flight by wealthy New Yorkers to Florida, which has no personal income tax."

Younger buyers still flooded into Brooklyn and Queens, and sought out studios and one-bedrooms in Manhattan, the FT added.

Go deeper:

Go deeper

Rebecca Falconer
Updated 4 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Supreme Court backs religious groups on New York coronavirus restrictions

Photo: Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled late Wednesday that restrictions previously imposed on New York places of worship by Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) during the coronavirus pandemic violated the First Amendment.

Why it matters: The decision in a 5-4 vote heralds the first significant action by the new President Trump-appointed conservative Justice Amy Coney Barrett, who cast the deciding vote in favor of the Catholic Church and Orthodox Jewish synagogues.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow
Jonathan Swan, Alayna Treene
9 hours ago - Politics & Policy

USAID chief tests positive for coronavirus

An Air Force cargo jet delivers USAID supplies to Russia earlier this year. Photo: Mikhail Metzel/TASS via Getty Images

The acting administrator of the United States Agency for International Development informed senior staff Wednesday he has tested positive for coronavirus, two sources familiar with the call tell Axios.

Why it matters: John Barsa, who staffers say rarely wears a mask in their office, is the latest in a series of senior administration officials to contract the virus. His positive diagnosis comes amid broader turmoil at the agency following the election.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow
Bryan Walsh, author of Future
11 hours ago - Health

COVID-19 shows a bright future for vaccines

Illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios

Promising results from COVID-19 vaccine trials offer hope not just that the pandemic could be ended sooner than expected, but that medicine itself may have a powerful new weapon.

Why it matters: Vaccines are, in the words of one expert, "the single most life-saving innovation ever," but progress had slowed in recent years. New gene-based technology that sped the arrival of the COVID vaccine will boost the overall field, and could even extend to mass killers like cancer.

Go deeper (2 min. read)Arrow