NYC Rents Would Remain Unaffordable for 20 Years Even With Zohran Mamdani’s Proposed Rent Freeze

Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani has proposed a sweeping housing reform plan that includes freezing rents on some apartments—but even if a similar proposal is adopted, it would take two decades to close New York City’s vast affordability gap.  

During the spring months, the typical New York City rent climbed to $3,491, up $123, or 3.7%, from a year ago, according to the Realtor.com® Q2 2025 NYC Rent Report. 

Surging housing costs point to a deepening affordability crisis gripping the Big Apple. 

As of June, the median asking rent in the city accounted for 55% of a typical household income—well above the commonly accepted 30% affordability benchmark.

In other words, the typical New Yorker put more than half of their monthly earnings toward rent, exceeding the traditional “30% rule of thumb,” which suggests that no more than a third of a household’s gross monthly income be used to cover housing expenses.

At the borough level, the situation was most dire in the Bronx, where the typical family had to set aside a staggering 81.6% of their monthly earnings to keep a roof over their heads. 

Notably, while the Bronx boasted the city’s lowest median rent, at $3,132, it also registered the lowest annual median income totaling roughly $46,000, or less than half that of a typical Manhattan household.

So far this year, 7 in 10 New York City households were renters, making the city one of the nation’s busiest rental markets. 

“Yet, a high share of renters does not necessarily equate to a renter-friendly environment,” notes Realtor.com economist Jiayi Xu. 

Mamdani’s housing platform raises questions

Perhaps unsurprisingly, mounting concerns about housing affordability helped Mamdani, a 33-year-old democratic socialist, trounce former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in New York City’s Democratic mayoral primary last month.

Mamdani’s bold proposal to tackle the city’s housing woes includes several key provisions, among them a multiyear freeze on rent-stabilized apartments; the construction of 200,000 new subsidized, rent-stabilized units; and a $100 billion investment in housing over 10 years.

But the question remains: Would any—or all—of these measures actually make living in New York City less prohibitively expensive?

According to Xu, one way to look at the affordability gap is to estimate how long it would take for rent to become affordable.

Imagine the extremely unlikely scenario in which the city’s monthly rent is frozen at the June 2025 level of $3,491, while the typical household income increases at a 3% annual growth rate.

Under these conditions, it would take 20 years for the rent-to-income ratio to decrease from today’s 55% to the optimal 30% threshold.

Assuming a supercharged yearly income growth of 5%, attaining housing affordability would still take 12 years.

“In other words, even with frozen rents and sustained income growth, closing this gap takes decades, not years,” concludes Xu.

The methodology behind the report looked at New York City rental data as of the second quarter of 2025 for all units advertised as for rent on Realtor.com®. Rental units include apartments as well as private rentals (condos, townhomes, single-family homes). Reator.com economists used rental sources that reliably report data each month within New York City and each of its boroughs. To calculate the median asking rent for each quarter, they first obtained the median asking rent for each month within that quarter and then took the average of the three months.

Experts who have studied Mamdani’s housing platform say the candidate’s proposed rent freeze is projected to have only a limited impact and is unlikely to offer a comprehensive solution to the persistent affordably problem.

“Freezing the rent is not going to solve the affordability crisis alone,” Yonah Freemark, principal research associate at the Urban Institute, tells Realtor.com.

One potential benefit of a rent freeze is that it could offer low-income families a little more room in their budget for basic necessities.

On the other hand, capping rents runs the risk of degrading the quality of rental properties.

“If the rent is frozen for too long, we could have a problem of landlords not resolving maintenance concerns, like the presence of rodents or leaks,” warns Freemark. “The city may need to increase its housing inspection rate, and introduce assistance for building renovations in situations where problems have grown worse.”

To improve affordability both meaningfully and relatively quickly, Xu says it is imperative to boost the city’s supply of affordable rental units, which could help decrease the citywide median rent.

Based on current household income levels, the maximum affordable rent for a typical earner in the Big Apple is about $1,903—more than 45% below the current median asking rent.

“While a sharp decline in rents may seem unlikely, even a modest reduction would provide meaningful relief for renters,” adds the economist.

Freemark argues that, ultimately, the city needs to boost its overall housing construction, as neighboring Jersey City, NJ, has successfully done in recent years through a series of zoning reforms.

The researcher adds that while the recently approved “City of Yes” zoning initiative aimed at increasing housing development across all neighborhoods should “make a dent” in the problem, it is not enough. 

“The city and state need to dedicate additional funds to subsidized units, such as public housing and other forms of housing for families with low incomes,” notes Freemark. “These units can provide permanent assistance to the people who suffer from the greatest housing cost burdens.”

The good news is that New York City has experienced a surge in multifamily permitting activity in recent years, which could spell at least some relief for families in the long run.

Rents surge across all boroughs

The period of April to June saw rents tick up on an annual basis in all boroughs, led by Brooklyn, which registered the fastest growth in both dollar and percentage gains as the median asking rent climbed to $3,825, up $215, or 6%, from a year ago, according to the latest rental report from Realtor.com.

Manhattan clinched the No. 2 spot, having seen its median rent surge $144, or 3.3%, year-over-year, to $4,569. 

Queens came in third, with rents there edging up 2.7%, to $3,349. Meanwhile, the Bronx experienced the city’s smallest increase of 1% from a year ago, with the typical rent inching up to $3,132.  

However, looking back at pre-pandemic levels, it becomes apparent that renters in the Bronx have been hit the hardest, with median asking rents there soaring more than 61% over the last six years. 

Brooklyn and Queens both saw their rents increase upward of 40% since 2019, while in the perennially high-priced Manhattan, rents edged up by a mere 2.4% since the pre-pandemic era.  

Data for Staten Island was not available because it is currently under review.