Brokers pushing the limits on asking prices for luxe homes

Whopping 145 residences in Manhattan listed above $20M in 2013

From left: Sandy Weill in his 15 Central Park West apartment and the Walker Tower penthouse
From left: Sandy Weill in his 15 Central Park West apartment and the Walker Tower penthouse

Sandy Weill’s startling $88 million sale in 2012 of his Central Park West apartment, along with swelling demand for trophy homes, is spurring luxury-apartment owners in Manhattan to test the limits of how high buyers will go to get a deal done.

More residences in the borough were priced above $20 million last year — a total of 145 — than any year ever recorded since 2005, according to Bloomberg’s analysis of StreetEasy data. Despite sky-high asking prices, closings aren’t as impressive. The number of apartments that have sold for more than $10 million may have doubled, but the median closing price is almost 8 percent less than such properties that sold in 2008, data from the number-crunchers at Miller Samuel show.

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“There’s definitely an argument to be made that some apartments are asking prices that make absolutely no sense whatsoever,” said Leonard Steinberg, a broker with Douglas Elliman, to Bloomberg. “Everybody wants $100 million for their apartment these days. The good news is that $100 million is, what — 60 million pounds? Only 73 million Euros? So on world standards, it’s still a pretty good buy.”

Pricing high has worked out for some units — a Walker Tower penthouse at 212 West 18th Street, which listed for $55 million in September, broke a record this month as the most expensive residential sale Downtown at nearly $51 million.  [Bloomberg News] Angela Hunt