26 contracts signed at $4M and above last week: Olshan

It’s the best first week of January in three years

From top: 269 West 11th Street (credit: Compass) and 34 East 74th Street
From top: 269 West 11th Street (credit: Compass) and 34 East 74th Street

New York City’s luxury market is expected to be sluggish in 2017, but last week saw 23 contracts signed at $4 million and above, the best first week of January in three years.

Out of the 26 contracts, according to Olshan Realty [TRDataCustom], 17 were for condominiums (with an average ask of $6.4 million). Four contracts were for co-ops ($6.1 million) and five were for townhouses ($16.1 million.)

The top contract was on 269 West 11th Street, which was asking $30 million. The five-story, 8,540-square-foot townhouse was first listed for $26 million in September, according to Olshan. The property is being sold with an approved set of plans from architect Annabelle Selldorf. The property last sold for $20 million in 2014, according to StreetEasy.

The No. 2 contract was on 34 East 74th Street, asking $19.9 million. The 6,200-square-foot townhouse was first listed in April last year for $26 million and had its asking price slashed three times, according to StreetEasy. The home has five bedrooms and five bathrooms, as well as a wine cellar, laundry room and rooftop terrace, according to the listing.

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The No. 3 contract was at 3 Riverside Drive, a historic townhouse known as the Kleeberg Residence. The property sold at auction for $18.5 million on Dec. 20. The 19th century townhouse — which spans nearly 11,000 square feet — was first listed in 2012 for $40 million. Since then, it has been reduced six times. In March, the price was slashed to $22 million. In October, it was asking $18.5 million and the owner, facing foreclosure, put it up for auction.

According to Olshan Realty, the median asking price last week was $6.2 million. The average discount from original ask to last asking price for last week was 10 percent (which was skewed higher by the contract on 3 Riverside Drive.) The total weekly asking price sales volume was $214.4 million, and the average number of days on the market was 435.

In the first week of 2016, just 15 contracts over $4 million were signed, according to the Olshan market report. — Miriam Hall