Zohran Mamdani Effect? This Leading Manhattan REIT Is Feeling The Heat: Growth Score Plummets

Benzinga · 2d ago

A prominent New York real estate investment trust, with all of its office and street retail properties located in Manhattan, is seeing its Growth score plummet in Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings over the past week.

The company in focus is Vornado Realty Trust (NYSE:VNO), which owns some of the most expensive and notable properties in the borough, including the Penn 1 skyscraper and the iconic 770 Broadway.

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While the decline coincides with a changing political backdrop in New York City, where Democratic Socialist mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani is set to take office on Jan. 1, 2026, Vornado's challenges appear to be driven less by politics and more by structural shifts reshaping the city's office and retail markets.

Manhattan REIT Sees Growth Scores Plummet

The Growth score in Benzinga’s Edge Rankings is assessed based on the pace of earnings and revenue growth at a company, with equal importance given to both short and long-term trends. A steep decline in a stock’s Growth score is thus indicative of a less-than-impressive recent quarterly earnings performance.

Vornado Realty Trust

The Maryland-based REIT has witnessed a steep drop in its Growth score from 50.16 to 2.75 within the span of a week.

While no single near-term catalyst appears to have driven the decline, the company has experienced a sustained erosion in its funds from operations, or FFOs, since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Its portfolio continues to face pressure from structural changes in New York City's office and retail markets, which have yet to recover to their pre-pandemic dynamics.

While Mamdani's policy proposals, which include a rent freeze on regulated apartments, are expected to influence New York City's real estate landscape, those measures remain prospective, with his term yet to begin. Moreover, Vornado’s portfolio primarily consists of retail and office space, which leaves it well-insulated from this city-wide affordability push.

The stock scores poorly in Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings, with an unfavorable price trend in the short, medium and long terms. Click here for deeper insights into the company, its properties, finances and operations.

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