What is fueling the luxury market in NYC?

[David Goldsmith]

Midtown, UES condos top Manhattan luxury market

Manhattan’s luxury market saw prices dip, but strong activity to close out January, according to Olshan Realty’s weekly report

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Midtown, UES condos top Manhattan luxury market​

More than 20 contracts signed for second straight week

Contracts kept coming last week in Manhattan’s luxury market.
Twenty-two contracts were signed last week, according to Olshan Realty’s weekly report of homes in the borough asking $4 million or more. The total was three shy of the contracts reported in the week prior, which was the busiest period since October.

The most expensive unit to enter contract was PHA at 111 West 56th Street. The unit in the building known as the One11 Residences at Thompson Central Park had an asking price just under $17 million.
The 3,000-square-foot duplex penthouse has four bedrooms and four bathrooms, and more than 2,500 square feet of outdoor space.

The duplex penthouse initially asked $14.5 million when the building started marketing in 2022. The 99-unit condo property is built above the Thompson Central Park Hotel, which provides amenities like a doorman, fitness center, restaurant, bar and lounge.
Douglas Elliman’s Maria Manieri had the listing.
The second most expensive home to enter contract last week was the 11th floor unit at 1045 Madison Avenue, with an asking price of $15.5 million.

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The condo had previously been sold by the sponsor for $28 million as a duplex that included the 10th floor. Each floor spans 4,200 square feet and has six bedrooms and 5.5 bathrooms.

The most recent owners initially listed the full duplex for $33.5 million and each floor separately for $17.5 million, according to Olshan. The 10th floor sold in October with a reduced asking price of $15 million, and the 11th floor went into contract last week to the winner of a bidding war.
The building, known as The Benson, has a concierge, roof terrace, fitness center and a library with a garden.
Bo Poulsen of Brown Harris Stevens had the listing.
Of the 22 units to enter contract last week, 15 were condos, six were co-ops and one was a townhouse. The homes’ combined asking price was $162 million, which works out to a median asking price of $6 million and an average asking price of $7.4 million. The typical home received a 7 percent discount and spent 527 days on the market.

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[David Goldsmith]

Condos asking $20M top Manhattan luxury market’s busiest week since June

The Douglas Elliman agent put an UES penthouse asking $20M into contract. Compass’ Steinberg did the same for a $19M Soho pad.

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Condos asking $20M top Manhattan luxury market’s busiest week since June​

Buyers inked contracts for 29 homes asking $4M or more

Manhattan’s luxury market had a banner week with 29 contracts signed for homes asking at least $4 million, the most since June.

The most expensive home to go into contract, according to Olshan Realty’s weekly report, was unit PH15W at 135 East 79th Street. The penthouse was asking $20 million, down from $22.5 million when it was first listed in November. The seller bought the unit in 2014 from the condominium’s developer, the Brodsky Organization, for $23.4 million.
The 5,000-square-foot duplex has five bedrooms and 5.5 bathrooms, along with two terraces that add 770 square feet of outdoor space. Off one terrace is a living room with a fireplace and a dining room. Off the other is a kitchen, den and fifth bedroom.
Amenities at the building include a doorman, fitness and yoga rooms, bike room and a lounge with a catering kitchen.
Holly Parker of Douglas Elliman had the listing.

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The second most expensive home to enter into contract was 7A at 27 Wooster Street, with an asking price of $19 million. The four-bedroom, 4.5-bathroom, full-floor unit spans 5,000 square feet. There’s also a balcony off the bedroom hallway.
The 960-square-foot corner living room has windows on three sides and the primary bedroom comes with two large walk-in closets. A parking spot was included in the sale. Amenities in the condominium include a 24-hour attended lobby and fitness room.

Compass’ Leonard Steinberg had the listing.
Of the 29 homes to enter contract last week, 14 were condos, 10 were co-ops, four were townhouses and one was a condop. The homes’ combined asking price was $224 million, which works out to an average of $8 million and a median of $6.5 million. The typical home received a 7 percent discount and spent 503 days on the market.

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[David Goldsmith]

Prices, sales dip in NYC’s luxury market, rise elsewhere

Despite a worldwide uptick in luxury home prices and sales, they dropped in New York City last year, according to a report on wealth.

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Prices, sales dip in NYC’s luxury market, rise elsewhere​

High-end home sales increased last year in Miami, Boston, Los Angeles

New York’s luxury market lost some of its shine last year.
Despite an uptick across the globe, luxury home prices in the city dropped in 2023 and sales fell by even more, according to Douglas Elliman and Knight Frank’s annual Wealth Report.

Prices in New York fell 2 percent, ending the year 8 percent below their peak, according to the report, which measures price performance across 100 destinations worldwide.
Though the city still snagged its fair share of luxury deals, last year’s top trades were significantly smaller than those in 2022. Not a single sale cracked the $100 million threshold, compared to two in the previous year.

The priciest deal — an $80 million resale at Vornado’s 220 Central Park South — was fell more than $100 million short of the sale of David Och’s penthouse at the same building, which was the most expensive sale of 2022.
But the price differential can be chalked up to the timing of when new luxury buildings — and their top-dollar penthouses — are put on the market, according to Douglas Elliman’s president and CEO, Scott Durkin.
“Usually that kind of price is [found on] the top three floors of a new building,” Durkin said. “There are very few, and when they do come on the market, they tend to move rather quickly because they are so special.”
The downward swing in prices may be an opportunity for buyers, the report noted. (Brokerages tend to portray almost any set of circumstances as a rationale to buy.)
Across the planet, luxury prices increased 3 percent on average, beating economists’ expectations for global property markets, according to Kate Everett-Allen, the head of international residential and country research at Knight Frank.

“Stock markets were heading for more pain, inflation was veering out of control and the pandemic-fueled property boom was set to end in tears as borrowing costs hit 15-year highs in some markets,” Everett-Allen said in a statement. “However, that never happened. We’ve seen a much softer landing in terms of price performance around the world.”
While prices generally held up, sales volume did not. Taken together, sales in New York, London, Dubai, Singapore, Hong Kong and Sydney declined 37 percent last year.
In New York City, the drop in luxury sales was likely attributable to a shortage of listings, Durkin said. He added that last year marked the “lowest inventory we’ve ever had” in New York.
“There’s a false sense of feeling like the market has dropped — because we don’t have anything to sell,” Durkin said.

As sales fell in several major markets, they went up in others, rising 7 percent in Miami and 6 percent in Boston. Houston, Los Angeles and California’s Orange County also notched year-over-year increases.
Though New York’s luxury market slipped, the report predicts a rebound in 2024. It estimated sale prices would grow 2 percent and rents 5 percent.
“Incremental reductions in the interest rates have really given people the confidence to come back into the market,” Durkin said.

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[David Goldsmith]

Manhattan luxury contracts notch busy streak

Manhattan’s luxury market snagged three straight weeks of more than 25 signed contracts, according to Olshan Realty.

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Manhattan luxury contracts notch busy streak​

More than 25 deals for three weeks running

It looks like spring has come early for Manhattan’s luxury market.
Twenty-seven units went into contract last week, according to Olshan Realty’s weekly report of homes in the borough asking at least $4 million, the third week in a row of more than 25 deals.

The most expensive home to enter contract was the 9th floor at 778 Park Avenue. The unit was asking $20 million, down from $25 million when it was listed in October.
The six-bedroom, seven-bathroom apartment has three wood-burning fireplaces and 11-foot ceilings. A 600-square-foot living room overlooks Central Park, as does the library, dining room and one bedroom. The apartment also comes with a staff room.

The co-op board does not allow financing and monthly maintenance is $26,000.
The unit was a co-exclusive listing between Lisa Tarnopol Deslauriers and Linda Reiner of Coldwell Banker Warburg and Sotheby’s Nikki Field.

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The second most expensive home to enter contract last week was the townhouse at 14 East 81st Street, with an asking price just under $20 million, down from $22 million when it first listed in August.
The six-bedroom, eight-bathroom limestone house’s five stories are connected by an elevator. The 20-foot-wide home also has three fireplaces, a garden on the ground floor and a terrace off the third floor. Annual real estate taxes are $150,000.

The listing was a co-exclusive between Adam Modlin of Modlin Group and Douglas Elliman’s Lauren Muss.
Of the 27 homes to go into contract, 16 were condos, six were co-ops, four were townhouses and one was a cond-op.
The homes’ combined asking price was $237.5 million, which works out to an average price of $8.8 million and a median price of $7.4 million. The typical home received an 11 percent discount and spent 605 days on the market.

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[David Goldsmith]

Manhattan luxury market suffers slowest March in 3 years

Manhattan luxury contracts in March dipped on an annual basis, but closed with a UWS townhouse and a Fifth Avenue condo.

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Manhattan luxury saw slowest March in three years​

Borough saw historical dip despite 30 units entering contract last week: Olshan

March marked a three-year low point for Manhattan’s luxury residential contracts.

Last month was the slowest for signings in the last three years, with 123 deals for units asking $4 million, according to Olshan Realty. After a record-breaking March with 160 signed contracts in 2021, the total sunk to 140 in the same period 2022 and 130 last year.
Despite the dip from Marches of Manhattan’s past, the borough saw some promising totals during the month. The 25 signed deals reported the week of March 18 marked the highest number of luxury townhouse contracts in a single week since June, and the market closed the month with 30 homes snagging signed deals.

The most expensive home to enter contract last week was a townhouse at 45 West 70th Street. The home was asking $14.9 million, down from $19.6 million when it was listed in 2020.
The five-story, 20-foot-wide house has an elevator, five bedrooms and four bathrooms, as well as two powder rooms. The basement has a 33-foot lap pool, a gym and a bedroom. The house also has a garden and roof terrace. Annual real estate taxes are $98,000.
Ryan Serhant had the listing.

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The second most expensive home to enter contract last week was the 8th floor at 1125 Fifth Avenue. The home had an asking price of $10 million, down from $13.5 million when it listed a year ago.

The co-op has four bedrooms, 5.5 bathrooms and a library. The living room has a fireplace and overlooks Central Park, as does the dining room. The primary bedroom also has a fireplace. The co-op board prohibits financing over $1.1 million.
Jeremy V. Stein of Sotheby’s International Realty had the listing.
Of the 30 homes to enter contract last week, 17 were condos, 10 were co-ops and three were townhouses.
The homes’ combined asking price was $188.4 million, which works out to an average of $6.3 million and a median asking price of $5.6 million. The typical home received a 16 percent discount and spent 795 days on the market.

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[David Goldsmith]

Luxury new development contracts dip in Manhattan

Less inventory may be behind a drop in new development signings, even as general market does well.

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Luxury new development contracts dip in Manhattan​

Typical homes sold at 8% discount

Another 28 units went into contract last week in Manhattan’s luxury market, one more than the week prior.

It marks the fourth straight week that more than 25 units asking $4 million or more have entered contract, according to a weekly report from Olshan Realty.
Manhattan’s luxury market has seen five fewer units go into contract in that price range this year compared to last.
That could be due to a 24 percent drop in sponsor deals over that timeframe, with just 67 this year compared to 88 last year. A decline in new construction inventory may be to blame for the drop, according to Olshan.
The most expensive unit to enter contract last week was 29B at 1 West End Avenue, the last sponsor unit in the building, with an asking price just under $18 million, down from $19.5 million. The 5,300-square-foot duplex condo has four bedrooms and 5.5 bathrooms. It also has a 33-foot great room with double-height ceilings that opens onto a 3,300-square-foot terrace.

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The 245-unit condo building, which started marketing in 2015, has 35,000 square feet of amenities, including a 75-foot swimming pool, spa and fitness center.
The second most expensive unit to go into contract last week was 50W at 50 West 66th Street, with an asking price of $17.7 million. The three bedroom, 3.5 bathroom condo spans 2,800 square feet and has a 140-square-foot loggia that overlooks Central Park.
Amenities in the 122-unit building include an indoor lap pool, an outdoor saltwater pool, a jacuzzi, and basketball and pickleball courts. Closings are expected to start later this year.
Of the 28 units to enter contract last week, 20 were condos, four were co-ops and four were townhouses. The homes’ combined asking price was $197.2 million, which works out to an average price of $7 million and a median price of $6.2 million. The typical home spent 641 days on market and received an 8 percent discount.

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[David Goldsmith]

Bruce Eichner sells West Village condo for a third of ask

Continuum Company developer Ian Bruce Eichner listed the condo at 100 Morton Street in the West Village for $25 million in 2017.

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Bruce Eichner sells West Village condo for a third of ask​

Top-floor unit at 100 Morton Street sells for $9M after listing in 2017

A West Village penthouse owned by Ian Bruce Eichner had a hard landing after seven years on the market, ultimately selling for a fraction of its initial ask.

The Continuum Company chair sold his unit at 100 Morton Street for $9.2 million, Crain’s reported. The price breaks down to roughly $1,614 per square foot for the 5,700-square-foot pad.
Eichner purchased the top-floor unit from Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen in 2010 for around $8 million. But the developer was looking for much more when he put the unit on the market in 2017, seeking $25 million.
The two-bedroom pad includes a fireplace, open kitchen, wine storage enclosure and both a dressing room and walk-in closet in the primary suite. The listing for the unit also detailed a floorplan that could allow for a six-bedroom configuration.
The anonymous buyer went into contract to purchase the unit in late September, five months before the deal closed. Corcoran’s Laurie Lewis held the listing.

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The 14-story, 140-unit building — known as One Morton Square — opened in 2004. There was one sale more expensive there than Eichner’s, according to StreetEasy. There are also three active listings at the property, two of which are in contract; the other is on the market for $9 million.

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[David Goldsmith]

Pricey Manhattan townhouse sales are rolling in

Four deals for single-family homes in Manhattan asking more than $10 million hit the books on Thursday.

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Pricey Manhattan townhouse sales are rolling in​

Here’s a look at the latest $10M+ sales to hit the books

Eight-figure townhouse sales are hitting the books in Manhattan one after the other.

Four deals for single-family homes in the borough asking more than $10 million were recorded in ACRIS on Thursday, according to an analysis by The Real Deal’s.
The properties join 18 other townhouses to close at similar price points in the last six months. The deals ranged from a $73 million record-setting megamansion in Greenwich Village to a $10.4 million abode on West 87th Street.
An uptick in high-end sales is welcome for the townhouse market, which slowed down last year along with the rest of the market, as economic uncertainty prompted by high mortgage rates and global unrest kept would-be sellers on the sidelines, according to a year-end report by Leslie J. Garfield.
But the same phenomenon is now fueling record gains in the luxury market nationwide, according to a Redfin report. Luxury buyers expect prices to continue to rise, while sellers “”feel it’s a good time to cash in on their equity,” Redfin agent David Palmer said. “Even though mortgage rates remain elevated and demand isn’t as high as it was during the pandemic, many homebuyers and sellers feel the worst of the housing downturn is behind us.”
Last quarter, luxury residential sales rose 2 percent year-over-year — the largest annual increase in the last three years — compared to a 4 percent decline in the overall market. Luxury home prices rose 9 percent annually.
Here’s a rundown of the latest townhouse sales recorded by the city:

3 East 10th Street | $25 million​

The four-story Greenwich Village townhouse nabbed an off-market deal with an unknown buyer.
The landmarked property was once a 13-unit rent stabilized building until M. Arch Architects converted it back into a single-family home. The renovations included a terraced backyard, elevator, new circulation system, updated kitchen and rooftop terrace.
The home last traded for $6.6 million in 2010, according to public records. The Greek Revival-style home was built in the 1840’s.

75 East 77th Street | $19.5 million​

The historic Lenox Hill carriage house sold in another off-market deal to an unknown buyer — the first time it’s traded in two decades. The seller, Alexander Lari of real estate developer The Claremont Group, purchased the property for $5.4 million in 2004.

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Architect Arpad Baksa renovated the property, which was built in 1910, into a single-family home, according to a 2015 post on the company’s website. The renovation included restoring some of the property’s original details, including the design of the entrance.
At the time of the post, the property featured marble staircases, an elevator, upper terrace and a gym and steam shower in the cellar. The top floor was added to the building’s rooftop in the 1980s.

109 Waverly Place | $19 million​

An unknown buyer scooped up this Greenwich Village townhouse for about $2,290 per square foot. It last traded for $17.6 million in 2011.
The 8,300-square-foot townhouse, built in 1910, hit the market in 2017 with a $28 million price tag, followed by multiple delistings, returns and price cuts. It was listed again in 2022 asking $25 million before yet another series of slashes.
The sprawling six-bedroom home is stacked with amenities fit for a luxury condo. It features an indoor, glass-walled lap pool, hot tub on the roof deck, gym, wine cellar, fifth floor terrace, art studio and garden.
Compass’ Rachel Glazer had the listing.

129 East 70th Street | $11 million​

The Lenox Hill home, built in 1920, spans four stories, four bedrooms and four bathrooms. The townhouse, which hit the market last April with a $14 million asking price, sold to an unknown buyer.
The townhouse also features five wood-burning fireplaces, a gated front garden, conservatory, backyard and staircase with an oculus.
The seller, Christian Keesee, bought the 19-foot-wide property in 2005 for $6.4 million. Keesee is a philanthropist and chairman of Kirkpatrick Bank and Kirkpatrick Oil & Gas Company.
Serhant’s Chase Landow had the listing.

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[David Goldsmith]

“It is a reckoning”: NYC luxury brokers on staying at the top

A stagnant market and impending regulatory changes are pushing the city’s top luxury brokers to have tough conversations with developers and clients.

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“It is a reckoning”: NYC luxury brokers on staying at the top​

TRD panel reveal how market challenges push tough conversations with developers, clients

With recovery still in the distant horizon, Katzen said the market challenges are pushing developers to be practical about their bottom lines, with some holding back units to rent instead of sell.
“You need to be very blunt about what needs to be done,” said Serhant’s Ravi Kantha, who previously co-led a team of top townhouse specialists at Leslie J. Garfield. “It’s a delicate line to walk.”
New development inventory is scarce, and the pipeline for new projects is drying up, adding another obstacle for brokers trading in this space.
But Katzen projected a comeback, pointing to the Vornado-Rudin-Griffin office tower at 350 Park Avenue.
“Most developers feel like New York is in a malaise right now,” Katzen said. “But they’re coming back.”

In previous periods of tight inventory, brokers and buyers may have turned to Brooklyn. But the borough has grown from a value alternative to a primary destination, where large apartments and renovated townhouses are few and far between, Kantha said.

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“[Brooklyn’s] definitely having a moment,” Kantha said. He added that some of the same buyers he represents are bidding on $20 million townhouses in the West Village and in brownstone Brooklyn.
With scarce inventory across the city, brokers are turning to the areas with the most promise. For Adam Modlin — who heads his own brokerage, the Modlin Group — that neighborhood is the Upper East Side.
“For many years, [high-end] buyers wanted downtown, and of course they still do,” said Modlin, who brokered the city’s priciest deal last year, an $80 million resale at 220 Central Park South.
He added that “[There’s] a huge resurgence in the Upper East Side” with some buyers trading downtown for uptown or adding homes in the neighborhood to their portfolios.
But the key to surviving at the top of the city’s market is having a trove of off-market listings, which are becoming increasingly common, according to Tal Alexander, the co-founder of Official backed by Side.
“I don’t think buyers are calling me because I can show them what’s on Zillow,” Alexander said. Instead, they’re asking for what he calls his “intellectual property” — an extensive knowledge of off-market listings.
Alexander said he’s able to clearly articulate that value to clients, a conversation which is now more important than ever as landmark antitrust settlements are changing long-held industry practices around commissions and buyer’s agents.
Headlines about the fallout from the lawsuits are prompting questions from clients, and brokers are having to contend with explaining the nuances of the New York City market, which doesn’t have a multiple listings service that would fall underneath the terms of the National Association of Realtors’ new rule changes.

“Why are we in New York acquiescing to the [lawsuits]” said Katzen, whose own firm, Douglas Elliman, agreed to settle litigation brought by home sellers.
She added that the New York firms that opted to resolve claims are “giving the appearance that we’ve done something wrong when we haven’t.”
Though the lawsuits threaten to upend how agents are paid commissions, the top brokers agreed that for the most part, business in New York would continue as usual.
“There are questions about [the lawsuits], and these are good conversations to have,” Modlin said. “We want transparency.”

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[David Goldsmith]

Manhattan luxury contracts beat Memorial Day odds

Manhattan luxury contracts were topped by the townhouse at 53 East 77th Street, the priciest of 30 properties to find buyers

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Manhattan luxury contracts beat Memorial Day odds
Townhouse at 53 East 77th Street led market’s historically strong week

Manhattan’s Luxury Contracts Beat Memorial Day Odds

Manhattan’s luxury market beat the odds last week.


Buyers signed contracts for 30 properties in the borough asking $4 million or more between May 20 and 26, according to Olshan Realty’s weekly report, exceeding the 10-year average of 27 deals inked the week before Memorial Day.

The total — which included 19 condos, 9 co-ops and two townhouses — was on par with the previous period. Sponsor sales accounted for 12 of the condos, which on average notched a 16 percent discount from the initial listing price after sitting on the market for nearly 1,500 days.

An Upper East Side townhouse, asking $26 million, was the priciest of the homes to find a buyer between May 20 and May 26. The 34-foot-wide mansion at 53 East 77th Street spans six stories and 14,500 square feet and is zoned for commercial use.

The property’s purpose has evolved over the years, including serving as publisher Funk & Wagnall’s library, Cello restaurant and recording studio, before landing in the hands of the current sellers, antique furniture dealers who bought it in 2007 and listed it in October last year.

Nest Seekers International’s Loy Carlos had the listing.

The second most expensive home to enter contract was Unit 15/16 at 515 Park Avenue, with an asking price of $25 million. The duplex condo spans 6,500 square feet and has six bedrooms and four bathrooms. The contract includes a wine cellar and third-floor studio.

The Lenox Hill home, which last traded for $21 million in 2006, asked $39.5 million when it hit the market in 2018. It features a formal dining room, library and billiards room and terrace overlooking Park Avenue.

The homes’ combined asking price was $277 million, which works out to an average of $9.2 million and a median of $6.1 million. The typical home spent 891 days on the market and received a 16 percent discount.

 

[David Goldsmith]

Deals over $100M are back in NYC

Manhattan has notched two sales above $100M so far this year, marking the first transactions to exceed the threshold since 2022.

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Deals over $100M are back in NYC
Manhattan is back in the nine-figure game for first time since 2022, with more likely to come

Deals over $100M Return To NYC

America’s upper echelon is getting richer, and the rising tide is bringing nine-figure residential deals back to Manhattan.


Since the start of the year, the borough has notched two sales above $100 million, marking the first transactions to exceed the threshold since 2022, public records show.

News broke of the latest deal earlier this week, a penthouse at Vlad Doronin’s Aman New York traded for $135 million. The sale came just a month after top broker Fredrik Eklund, John Gomes and Kent Wu of Douglas Elliman announced the closing of a penthouse at Extell Development’s Central Park Tower for $115 million.

“People are really rich and have gotten richer,” said Donna Olshan of Olshan Realty, who credited the uptick to gains in the stock market and the growing wealth among the country’s ultra-rich.

At the end of last year, the wealth of the top 1 percent soared to a record $45 trillion — up by $1 trillion from the previous year — largely driven by stock holdings, according to data from the Federal Reserve and reported by CNBC. Economists say the boost to the wealthy’s stock portfolios is pushing consumers to take more risks and spend more money.

“The top of the market is having a moment,” said appraiser Jonathan Miller. He added that while buyers at this end of the market aren’t constrained by mortgage rates, they’re still impacted by the Fed’s policy because of its effect on the stock market.

“Someone buying a $135 million apartment probably isn’t very concerned about interest rates, for the acquisition,” Miller said. But high networth individuals are still “very cognizant of the performance of the financial markets in the context of their businesses.”

“The stock market continues to move along,” he added.

Counting the latest sale in the Big Apple, nine-figure deals nationwide had by June already exceeded last year’s total, according to data cited in Miller’s Housing Notes newsletter.

High and getting higher
If sales over $100 million continue at this pace for the rest of the year, they’re on track to double the total reached in 2023. That total would set a new record, exceeding the nine deals logged during the pandemic buying frenzy in 2021.

But Miller said these headline-making deals aren’t indicative of any larger market trends. High mortgage rates, political uncertainty and sparse inventory continue to impact sales in the overall market.

“This [super luxury] market gets most of the real estate eyeballs but literally has nothing to do with housing for mere mortals,” Miller wrote in Housing Notes.

In New York, nine-figure deals reached new heights in 2021 when billionaire hedge funder Ken Griffin paid $240 million for a quadplex at 220 Central Park South. The sale at Vornado Realty Trust’s supertall set the record for the priciest residential sale in the country.

The city continued riding high through 2022, notching two deals over $100 million. That year, billionaire investor Daniel Och sold his 220 Central Park South pied-a-terre for $188 million, and the estate of Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen sold two Upper East Side apartments for $101 million.

But the following year paled in comparison to the previous two, with the priciest deal topping out at $80 million. Three deals this year — including the Central Park Tower and Aman New York sales, as well as an $82 million resale at 220 Central Park South — have already exceeded 2023’s most expensive.

In Manhattan, other contenders to make the $100 million-plus club this year include the $195 million triplex at Central Park Tower, marketed as the tallest penthouse in the world by Ryan Serhant.

The penthouse at Extell Development’s supertall served as a key plotline in the debut season of Serhant’s Netflix reality TV show “Owning Manhattan,” then priced at $250 million. Extell slashed the asking price by $55 million last year.

“The original pricing on these units were headline prices,” Barnett said in an emailed statement at the time. “We have recently sold a significant amount of inventory at the top of the building and now want to get serious about selling these two showcase homes.”

Though Serhant can be seen in the series suggesting he was in danger of losing the listing, the property is still listed with the top broker and his eponymous brokerage.

Also on the market is another penthouse at Central Park Tower asking $150 million and marketed by Shlomi Reuveni and Reuveni Development Marketing and Christie’s International Real Estate Group.

Douglas Elliman’s Lila Nejad and Noble Black are marketing a $105 million listing at Macklowe Properties’ 432 Park Avenue.

 

[David Goldsmith]

Penthouses prop up Manhattan’s luxury contracts

Manhattan’s luxury market is paddling through slower summer weeks with penthouse leading deals, according to Olshan Realty.

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Penthouses prop up Manhattan’s luxury contracts
Property type lands 10 signed deal in two-week period

Penthouses Rule Manhattan’s Luxury Market

Penthouses are king in Manhattan this month, powering the borough’s luxury market through slower mid-summer weeks.


The property type has accounted for nearly a quarter of all the luxury contracts signed in Manhattan in the last two weeks, according to Olshan Realty’s weekly report on properties asking $4 million or more.

Ten penthouses found buyers in the period with an average asking price of $10.7 million. The homes — five condos and five co-ops — spent roughly a year on average the market and were discounted 15 percent from the initial asking price.

Though penthouses are leading the charge, the most expensive property to snag an inked deal last week was a West Village townhouse asking just under $23 million. The renovated home at 83 Horatio Street spans 6,200 square feet and has five bedrooms and five bathrooms.

The five-story townhouse, built in 1852, is 23 feet wide and features four fireplaces, a terrace and backyard. It last traded for $10 million in 2015.

Douglas Elliman’s Christopher Riccio and Elana Zinoman had the listing.

The second priciest home to find a buyer was a penthouse at 212 West 18th Street in Chelsea, with an asking price just under $16 million. The duplex condo, which hit the market in October, spans 3,100 square feet and has three bedrooms and four bathrooms.

Unit PH8 — which last traded for $12.5 million in 2017 — also features a 190-square-foot terrace and views of the Hudson River and downtown Manhattan.

Amenities at the building, known as Walker Tower, include a doorman, fitness center, playroom and library.

Bespoke Real Estate had the listing.

Walker Tower’s crown jewel penthouse was at the center of a money laundering scandal in 2016, when U.S. Marshals seized the apartment from its then-owner Emirati businessman Khadem al-Qubaisi. The seizure was part of a federal investigation into the Malaysian investment organization known as 1Malaysia Development Berhad, or 1MDB.

The agency later sold the penthouse to wealth manager Ron Vinder for a 64 percent discount from the previous purchase price, prompting outrage from other owners. The building’s condo board turned to the New York Supreme Court to try and repossess the unit, arguing that the transaction violated their bylaws.

Buyers signed contracts for 20 homes asking $4 million or more last week, down from 22 in the previous period. Of the total contracts, 15 were for condos, three were for co-ops and two were for townhouses.

The homes’ combined asking price was $176 million, which works out to an average of $8.8 million and a median of $6.6 million. The typical home spent 824 days on the market and received a 10 percent discount.

 

[David Goldsmith]

One Clinton resale leads Brooklyn luxury’s mid-July jump

Brooklyn’s luxury market notched a 75% rise in total deal volume in mid-July from the same time last year.

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One Clinton resale leads Brooklyn luxury’s mid-July jump
Activity, median asking price and total volume rise from one year ago


What a difference a year makes for the Brooklyn luxury market.


The borough saw 19 total contracts signed for properties asking $2 million or more, up from 12 in the same period last year, according to Compass’ weekly report. The median asking price also rose to $3 million, compared to $2.3 million a year ago.

The spikes in activity and asking price translated to a total volume of $57.8 million between July 15 and 21, up roughly 75 percent year-over-year. The average days units spent on the market fell from last year, from 166 to 113.

The most expensive contract from last week went to a unit in Hudson Companies’ 1 Clinton Street, a perennial resident on the list of top signed deals in Brooklyn’s luxury sector.

The unit, which had a last asking price of $5 million, has been one of a “handful” of resales in the building, according to Compass’ Cornelia Van Amburg, who had the listing. Originally purchased in 2021 for $4.8 million, Van Amburg said the sellers had since “completely customized” the unit.

The 2,563-square-foot unit is notably more rustic than other apartments in the building, as the owners added details like custom oak wood paneling from The Hudson Company to walls in the living room. The home has four beds and three full baths, including a primary bath overlooking the city.

The 38-story condominium, which replaced a branch of the Brooklyn Public Library at Cadman Plaza Park, began sales in 2019. The building has a 2,000-square-foot fitness center with a sauna, hot tub and yoga room, as well as a 3,500-square-foot terrace.

The second most expensive contract signed in Brooklyn last week went to 223 Garfield Place in Park Slope.

Built in 1890, the four-bedroom, three-bathroom townhouse last asked $3.9 million. The four-story property has pairs of bedrooms on the top two floors, and the garden level features a library and eat-in kitchen that opens up into a back patio.

The house sits two blocks away from Prospect Park, between Seventh and Eighth avenues.

Corcoran’s Dwayne Powell, Cathleen Oscar, Sandra Smith-Davis and Linda Peng had the listing.

Of the 19 signed contracts, 13 were for condos and 6 houses. Last week saw 24 inked deals across 10 condos, two co-ops, and 12 houses.

 

[David Goldsmith]

Manhattan’s luxury market charges through August

Manhattan’s luxury market in August beat its rate of deals reported in 2023, could be on pace for a peak monthly performance

therealdeal.com

Manhattan’s luxury market charges through August​

Signed contracts for homes asking $4M+ outpace 2023

Manhattan luxury buyers seem to be skipping their summer break this August.

Over the last four weeks, contract activity for luxury homes in the borough has outpaced the same period last year, up from 60 to 73, according to data from Olshan Realty. If buyers continue to ink deals at this pace, this month is slated to be the third best August in the last 10 years.
The uptick in activity is likely due to a dip in mortgage rates, which are now at their lowest levels since last spring. Buyers signed contracts for 428 properties in Manhattan, across price points, in the first two weeks of August, marking an 18 percent annual increase, according to data from UrbanDigs.
Between Aug. 19 and Aug. 25, 18 homes in Manhattan asking $4 million or more snagged inked deals, down from 20 in the previous week. The properties included 10 condos, six co-ops and two townhouses.
Extell Development’s Central Park Tower is home to the priciest contract signed last week. Unit 39B entered contract last Monday and reportedly closed on Tuesday for $43.5 million, though the deal hasn’t yet landed in public records.
The apartment asked $75 million when it was initially marketed off floor plans in 2018. The apartment has five bedrooms, five bathrooms and a 2,000-square-foot terrace. It also features views of Central Park from its living room, dining room and kitchen.
Douglas Elliman’s Janice Change had the listing.

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The 7,600-square-foot condo is the latest discount at 217 West 57th Street, which has routinely fallen short of its once-projected sellout of $4 billion. In 2021, developer Gary Barnett amended his expectations to closer to $1 billion.
Earlier this summer, the Billionaires’ Row supertall landed the first nine-figure deal in New York since 2022 when a penthouse closed for $115 million. The tower — advertised as the tallest residential building in the world — also once had the most expensive listing on the market, a triplex asking $250 million. Extell dropped the price to $195 million last year and pulled it off the market in July.
The second most expensive home to enter contract was 12 East 79th Street, with an asking price of $36 million. The townhouse, which initially asked $38 million when it hit the market last May, spans 28 feet across and 16,000 square feet and has eight bedrooms and 10 bathrooms, according to the listing.

Built in 1910, the Upper East Side mansion has been owned by the School of Practical Philosophy since 1975. It hit the market in February after a December deal for the property fell through.
Douglas Elliman’s Sandra Ripert and Patricia Vance had the listing.
The combined asking price for the 18 homes was $264 million, which works out to an average price of $14.6 million and a median of $7.5 million. The typical home spent 803 days on the market and received a 19 percent discount.

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[David Goldsmith]

Russian billionaire faces foreclosure on Plaza, 15 Central Park West condos

A Russian billionaire and his wife are facing foreclosures on an opulent penthouse at 15 Central Park West and a condo at The Plaza after listing the properties a year ago for over $100 million.

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Russian billionaire faces foreclosure on Plaza, 15 Central Park West condos​

The opulent, gold-laden condos were listed last year for over $100M

A Russian billionaire and his wife are facing foreclosures on an opulent penthouse at 15 Central Park West and a condo at The Plaza after listing the properties a year ago for over $100 million.

Valery Kogan, who made his fortune as the co-owner of Moscow’s Domodedovo Airport, and his wife, Olga, could lose their posh pads in a non-judicial foreclosure.
Miami-based Rok Lending initiated the U.C.C. foreclosure, alleging the property owners defaulted on $4.2 million in loan payments. Rok provided a $38 million loan to a company tied to the Kogans, which was secured by interests in the properties, according to property records.
An auction has been scheduled for September 25, based on a notice from auctioneer Maltz Auctions. The lender is allowed to credit bid using its existing debt.
Kogan’s net worth totaled $2.5 billion in 2014 by Forbes’s account. He and his wife have largely stayed out of the news — with the exception of their ostentatious real estate purchases.
The Kogans nabbed two of the units at The Plaza, 1007 and 1009, for $26 million in 2007, records show. They combined the units to build out a 5,047-square-foot residence overlooking Central Park.
The couple bought the 40th floor penthouse at 15 Central Park West for $22.7 million in 2008 from the building’s developer, the Zeckendorf Family.

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Zeckendorf’s 15 Central Park West, also known as Limestone Jesus, was designed by Robert A.M. Stern. Its buyers include athletes, celebrities, and numerous Goldman Sachs bankers, including former CEO Lloyd Blankfein. Russian oligarch Dmitry Rybolovlev was also a buyer, who purchased a condo for his daughter Ekaterina.
The Kogans decided to list their New York City properties last year, hoping for about $100 million, the New York Post reported. They relisted the properties a few months later at a reduced price.
The listing for 15 West Central Park penthouse noted the unit was renovated “in the utmost opulent décor with 24 karat finishings throughout.” The “regal” residence had imported onyx and wood.

The Kogans purchased the units through LLCs, which list attorney Andrey M. Kaydin, as the manager.
The pair appears to be trying to get rid of their real estate holdings outside the U.S. as well.
In 2020, the Kogans put their 75,000-square-foot mansion in Caesarea, Israel up for sale for $259 million. The estate borders mimics a fake Venetian palace with two fountains of Roman sculptures and 14-carat gold moldings and crystal across the home, according to the Times of Israel.
This year, Kogan sold his Tel Aviv penthouse for $33 million. When Kogan purchased the seafront penthouse in 2009, it was the most expensive apartment sale in the country, according to Globes.
The couple sold their condo at 515 Park Avenue for $14.5 million last year, according to the New York Post. This year, the Kogans sold their seven-bedroom Greenwich, Connecticut estate for $10.4 million in May. They purchased the property for $18.5 million in 2005.

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[David Goldsmith]

Manhattan luxury contracts roar through September

Manhattan’s luxury contracts were led by deals at 960 Fifth and The Surrey Residences in a hot September market.

therealdeal.com

Manhattan luxury contracts roar through September​

Twenty-seven deals so far this month more than triple from 2023

It was a condo craze in the Manhattan luxury market last week, but the top billing went to a co-op in one of the city’s premier buildings.

Condos racked up 21 contracts over $4 million, well above the four co-op deals and two townhouse signings from Sept. 16 to Sept. 22, according to data from Olshan Realty.
The total of 27 contracts is up from just eight signed in the same week last year. There have already been 96 luxury contracts signed in Manhattan this month, nearly doubling last September’s output with a full week still to go.
The top contract went to Unit 12 in 960 Fifth for $60 million, a discount from its original $70 million asking price when it hit the market in May 2023.
The Rosario Candela-designed unit has eight beds and seven bathrooms, along with a living room, dining room and library that all face Central Park.
The seller is the estate of oil heiress Anne Hendricks Bass, who died in 2020.
If sold near its asking price, the apartment joins the building’s upper echelon of deals. A 2014 penthouse sold for $70 million in 2014 held the record for most expensive co-op sold in the city for just three months before being overtaken by a duplex at 740 Park Avenue that sold for $71.3 million.

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Built in 1928, the building includes a private restaurant, rooftop fitness center and rooftop terrace among its amenities.
Compass’ Alexa Lambert had the listing.
The second priciest contract last week went to a co-op in The Surrey Residences at 20 East 76th Street. The six-bedroom, six-bathroom apartment went into contract with a last asking price of $28 million.

The 14-unit condo building, which sits on top of The Surrey Hotel, launched sales this fall. The site is the location of the 1926 Surrey Hotel, which housed city luminaries like JFK and Bette Davis.
The Reuben Brothers property underwent a restoration by BKSK Architects. Along with the residences, which start on the 11th floor, and hotel, the building also houses private members’ club Casa Tua, the first location for the Italian restaurant and lounge in the city.
Exclusive sales are being run by Douglas Elliman Development Marketing, with sales led by Lauren Muss and Michelle Griffith.
The 27 contracts combined for a total dollar volume of $276 million, median asking price of $6.5 million and average asking price of $10.2 million. Units spent an average of 573 days on the market.

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[David Goldsmith]

Why mortgage rates and an election couldn’t slow down new development

October netted 293 new development contracts, the most this year, led by luxury signings at The Henry, 255 East 77th Street and The Cortland.

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Why mortgage rates and an election couldn’t slow down new development​

October had 293 contract signings, the most this year

The new-development market hit a high for the year in October.

Luxury home contract signings have surged this season, and both Manhattan and Brooklyn showed significant year-over-year growth, according to Marketproof’s monthly report.
The 293 new-development contracts signed last month were the most since May 2023. Seventeen were for homes priced at $10 million or more, a top-five mark for any month in the past decade.
The October boom runs counter to the notions that “the market slows after Q3, that sales fall as mortgage rates rise, and that buyers press the ‘pause’ button before a presidential election,” Marketproof CEO Kael Goodman stated. (The election effect is probably not real.)
But the Halloween-month flurry doesn’t necessarily portend any larger cyclical changes, argued Jason Thomas, Brown Harris Stevens Development Marketing’s head of research and analytics.
The month benefitted from the launch of two Naftali Group projects — 255 East 77th Street and The Henry at 211 West 84th Street — toward the end of September. Those projects, along with The Cortland at 555 West 22nd Street, accounted for 23 of the 61 luxury contracts signed.
Had those launches happened a month later, it would have been “the same story” in November, Thomas said. “It’s really just a function of supply.”
The October performance still fell far short of some nearly 500-contract months during the Covid rebound in 2021, but exceeded the three-year pre-Covid October average of 232, according to Marketproof CTO Ning Zhou.
More significant, according to Thomas, is that contract numbers in Manhattan and Brooklyn have returned to their historical averages despite mortgage rates that are 75 percent higher than they were pre-pandemic.

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“Rates don’t really matter that much,” Thomas said of luxury condo demand. “There’s so much money in Manhattan and New York City that people don’t have to get mortgages.”

The average 30-year mortgage rate had fallen to about 3.3 percent when Covid began and spent a few months below 3 percent in the pandemic’s first year but has not been below 6 percent since September 2022.
Buyers signed contracts for 165 new-development units in Manhattan last month, more than double the 84 signed last October. The median sale price was $2.7 million and the median price per square foot was $2,212.
The number was powered by the 12 contracts signed at 255 East 77th Street, a collaboration between Naftali Group and Ramsa. Compass Development Marketing Group launched sales last month.
Brooklyn netted 99 contracts in October, compared with 48 last year. The median sale price was $1.5 million and the median price per square foot was $1,338.
Avdoo & Partners Development’s Bergen Brooklyn development led the borough with eight contracts for units asking $1.27 million to $3.2 million. The 105-unit development has reported 29 deals signed since launching sales six months ago.
Queens was the only borough in the report where contract signings slipped from last year, to 29 from 35. The median sale price was $925,000 and the median price per square foot was $1,434.
Maison LIC, a 42-unit development by ZD Jasper Realty, reported 12 contracts signed in October. Serhant New Development launched sales two months ago.
Queens added the most new units, 167, through three sales launches. Brooklyn added 136 through four launches and Manhattan added 22 across four.

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