No one wants to live in Trump Tower anymore
President Trump's Manhattan tower has it all: Central Park proximity, a recognizable name, and constantly heightened security.
It turns out that's not what New Yorkers want in luxury rental. Trump Tower's occupancy rate and selling prices for its condos have dropped dramatically in the last few years, and yet even falling prices can't attract businesses to fill its vacant office spaces, Bloomberg reports.
Back in 2004, Michael Sklar's family spent $1.4 million on a 57th-floor Trump Tower condo, or $1.84 million when adjusted for inflation. They then spent $400,000 on renovations, but could only get $1.83 million when selling it last October. Sklar's condo is among 13 that have sold since Trump's election, and of the nine with publicly available selling prices, "eight sold at an inflation-adjusted loss," Bloomberg reports. Manhattan-based broker Matthew Hughes told Bloomberg that kind of loss is "rare" even in today's "softening" luxury market.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Meanwhile, much of Trump Tower's office space is now sitting empty, with once-firm square footage prices now listed as "negotiable." It's all amounted to the tower's occupancy rate falling from 99 percent seven years ago to 83 percent today, Bloomberg says. That's twice Manhattan's average vacancy rate.
While Sklar did tell Bloomberg that "the name on the building became a problem," he also chalked up his condo sale to the fact that taxis couldn't drop his mother off at the Trump Tower door anymore due to heightened security. Disclosures to investors obtained by Bloomberg also show Trump "hasn't spent much money updating Trump Tower in recent years," which only piles onto its undesirability. Read more at Bloomberg.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.
-
Empty-nest boomers aren't selling their big homes
Speed Read Most Americans 60 and older do not intend to move, according to a recent survey
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Brazil accuses Musk of 'disinformation campaign'
Speed Read A Brazilian Supreme Court judge has opened an inquiry into Elon Musk and X
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Disney board fends off Peltz infiltration bid
Speed Read Disney CEO Bob Iger has defeated activist investor Nelson Peltz in a contentious proxy battle
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Disney and DeSantis reach detente
Speed Read The Florida governor and Disney settle a yearslong litigation over control of the tourism district
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Visa and Mastercard agree to lower swipe fees
Speed Read The companies will cap the fees they charge businesses when customers use their credit cards
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Reddit IPO values social media site at $6.4 billion
Speed Read The company makes its public debut on the New York Stock Exchange
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Housing costs: the root of US economic malaise?
speed read Many voters are troubled by the housing affordability crisis
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Feds cap credit card late fees at $8
speed read The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau finalized a rule to save households an estimated $10 billion a year
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published