First week of May saw the fewest luxury contracts since 2011: Olshan

Yikes!

Not only did the city’s luxury residential market slog through the weakest start to May in six years, but the priciest unit took a $34 million haircut from its original asking price.

The market saw 22 contracts signed at $4 million and above in the week of May 1 through May 7, which was the weakest start to May since 2011, according to Olshan Realty’s weekly market report.

But even more striking is the fact that the week’s most expensive contract, a duplex at the Time Warner Center asking $16 million, reduced its price by nearly 70 percent from the $50 million it had been asking when it hit the market in October 2013.

The apartment, 54AG, was originally two units that were purchased for $2.75 million in 2004 and $8.3 million in 2008. Combined, they span 3,582 square feet with four bedrooms, four bathrooms and views of Central Park.

The listing had shuffled through a handful of brokers, starting first with Douglas Elliman’s Fredrik Eklund before a stop over at Brown Harris Stevens. Nest Seekers International’s Ryan Serhant finally got it into contract.

The second-most expensive contract of the week was for a $15 million flip at the Alexico Group’s 56 Leonard Street. The 3,576-square-foot, four-bed pad originally closed for $11.4 million in March.

The median asking price for a luxury home for the week was $6.65 million, with an average discount of 20 percent from the original ask. Luxury homes spent an average of 475 days on the market. [Olshan] – Rich Bockmann