Report: Trump-Branded NYC Real Estate Plummeted in Value Since 2016
An analysis conducted by the New York Times shows that the value of Trump real estate emblazoned with his name in New York City plummeted after he was elected president—including the condos of Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue.Sarah Yenesel/EFE/ZUMA
Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.Trump brags about pretty much everything—but particularly his wealth and his real estate.
That was the basis of the civil fraud trial brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James, which culminated on Friday when a judge ruled Trump must pay $355 million—or $453.5 million with interest, according to NBC News—after finding him liable of fraudulently inflating his net worth and the values of his properties to get good deals on bank loans and insurance policies. (He said, for example, that his Mar-a-Lago estate was valued at $1 billion—about $970 million more than a Palm Beach county tax appraisal that found it was worth between $18 million and $27 million.)
But a report published by the New York Times on Sunday—based on sales data from two real estate tracking firms and an analysis by an economist at Columbia University—reveals that Trump-branded real estate has taken a hit in his hometown of New York City following his 2016 election.
Condominiums in buildings with Trump’s name on them plummeted in value during the one-year period before and after the election, going from selling at a one percent premium compared to similar units to selling for four percent less, according to the Times. Over the ten-year period from 2013 to 2023, the contrast was even starker: the seven Manhattan buildings till emblazoned with the Trump name dropped in value by 23 percent, according to the real estate website CityRealty. That includes the famous Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue, where he infamously descended the escalator to launch his 2016 campaign: the average price per square foot of its condos fell by nearly 50 percent since 2013, according to CityRealty.
Meanwhile, condos in four buildings that took down their Trump logos after hundreds of tenants signed petitions in support of the move shot up in value by nine percent during the same decade, compared to the eight percent increase the Manhattan market saw, the Times notes.
“This analysis cleanly identifies that it is the Trump brand that is responsible for the value deterioration,” Stijn Van Nieuwerburgh, a Columbia University professor of real estate, told the Times. “Removing the Trump name from the building removes the loss associated with the name.”
Trump’s son, Eric, the executive vice president of the Trump Organization, responded to the Times by questioning the validity of their analysis.
“Data can be manipulated to tell any story you want, but the fact remains that our buildings sell for the highest prices per square foot of any properties in the world. That is undeniable,” he told the Times in an emailed statement. “This year alone, Trump International Hotel & Tower New York closed on a $17 million unit, exceeding the prices at Time Warner, Essex House and the most prestigious properties in the city.” (Records show that Trump real estate is far from the most expensive in the city, the Times notes.)
Based on Trump’s latest legal troubles in New York City—for which he currently owes more than $536 million—that’s unlikely to change anytime soon.
