NYC condos still attractive for foreign buyers: Hong Kong developer

Neo Que Yau's Euro Properties is building 118 East 59th Street

Neo Que Yau and 118 East 59th Street
From left: Neo Que Yau and 118 East 59th Street in Midtown

As global markets slump, Hong Kong developer Neo Que Yau sees continued strong demand for New York condos.

The Euro Properties chief is developing the 77,000-square-foot 118 East 59th Street, a 29-unit luxury condo project, at a cost of $160 million.

“The world economy is fairly weak in general, and I think there’s a lot of room for the New York market to grow,” Neo said.

Sales at 118 East 59th Street, where each and every unit will occupy at least an entire floor, will open next month. Prices will start at $5 million.

The company bought the property from the Rudd family in 2013.

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“The New York property market has always been a pretty stable environment for investment,” Neo told Bloomberg. “I think that reaction to turmoil in the Chinese economy will result in more flight to safety, that when people look for opportunities to invest in more solid, tangible, enduring assets, real estate — especially New York real estate — is at the top of the list.”

The top end of the condo market has exploded with activity in past months, but Jonathan Miller of Miller Samuel said homes priced at $3 million to $7 million are “kind of the sweet spot that’s missing from the market.”

Gary Barnett’s Extell Development announced earlier this month it would give Chinese buyers first crack at apartments at its One Manhattan Square condo tower on the Lower East Side.

The Real Deal dove deeply into the wave of foreign buyers sweeping the city’s condo market in its March issue. [Bloomberg]Ariel Stulberg