New York City may not have been immune to the subprime mortgage crisis
in 2007 — Queens alone had more than 1,500 foreclosures in October and
outer-borough properties saw sizeable price cuts — but Manhattan’s
ultra-luxury housing market has held up. There’s the $31 million condo
sale at One Madison Park, a record for an apartment below 57th Street;
the penthouse sale at William Beaver House for more than $3,500 per
square foot; and the W New York-Downtown, where 72 of 159 units went
into contract at a starting price of $2,000 per square foot. High rents
made buying a better option for many New Yorkers, and Wall Street bonus
cuts may not be as drastic as some had feared. And foreign interest in
Manhattan properties has remained strong.