A look at the 10 biggest residential sales of 2016

A decade after developer Harry Macklowe acquired the site for 432 Park Avenue, sales at the supertall condo tower dominated 2016’s top residential deals.  

Five of the building’s ultra-luxe pads were among last year’s 10 priciest closed sales in New York City — including the building’s $87.7 million penthouse, which closed in September. The spate of big-ticket deals at 432 Park can be attributed to the fact that three years after sales launched, developers Macklowe Properties and CIM Group finally obtained a certificate of occupancy in late November 2015, allowing buyers to close on their purchases.

Overall, the top 10 sales of 2016 accounted for $517.4 million in deals, an 8 percent drop from 2015, when the total sale price of the 10 priciest pads was $565 million.

Last year’s drop isn’t too surprising given the widespread softening in the high-end market.

This past year’s drop isn’t too surprising
given the widespread softening
in the high-end market.

Even at Rafael Vinoly-designed 432 Park, buyers who signed contracts and closed on their units last year received an average discount of 10 percent, according to a recent analysis by real estate appraisal firm Miller Samuel.

The year’s priciest transaction also falls short of the previous year’s biggest purchase, when an investor group led by hedge funder Bill Ackman shelled out $91.5 million for a penthouse at One57. But with several other ostentatious pads on the market — the 12,000-square-foot apartment listed for $96 million at 834 Fifth Avenue comes to mind — anything could happen in 2017.

Here’s how last year’s top closed sales stack up. Keep in mind that the closed sale prices in property records do not reflect so-called price concessions, which are indicated on a separate rider and are not publicly recorded. So some of these buyers on the list below may have paid less than the prices indicated. The ranking was compiled using The Real Deal’s analysis of Department of Finance data, broker information pulled from On-Line Residential, and news reports.

1. 432 Park Avenue, PH 96 | $87.7 million

Three years after going into contract, Saudi retail magnate Fawaz Al Hokair reportedly closed on the highest — and priciest — pad at 432 Park Avenue. In September, Al Hokair shelled out $87.7 million, or more than $10,600 per foot, for the 8,255-square-foot aerie, which was asking $95 million.

2. 432 Park Avenue, Unit 88 | $60.9 million

Lew Sanders, former CEO of asset manager AllianceBernstein, forked over $60.89 million — or just under $7,600 per square foot — for one of the priciest penthouses at 432 Park. The five-bedroom, 8,055-square-foot pad was first listed in May 2014 for $76.5 million, or $9,497 per square foot.

3. 432 Park Avenue, Unit 79 | $59.1 million

In June, a Los Angeles-based corporation, 432 Crotona Park Avenue LLC, plopped down $59.1 million for a full-floor spread on the 79th floor, property records show. The buyer paid roughly $7,337 per foot for the apartment, a combination of two half-floor units spanning more than 8,000 square feet.

4. 4 East 66th Street, 5 | $52 million

Hedge funder Chase Coleman III parted with $52 million in July to expand his den at 4 East 66th Street, paying a premium over the co-op’s $48 million asking price. The Tiger Global Management head and his wife bought the fifth-floor pad from Gracie Capital’s Daniel Nir and his wife, Jill Braufman.

5. 157 West 57th Street, 83 | $45.8 million

Private trusts linked to British billionaire Malcolm Healey picked up an 83rd-floor condo at Extell Development’s One57 for $45.8 million, or about $7,343 per square foot, in mid-December. The sprawling 6,240-square-foot pad has four bedrooms, five bathrooms and a chef’s kitchen.

6. 212 West 18th Street, PH2 | $45 million

LA Fitness CEO Louis Welch sold his Walker Tower penthouse for $45 million in June, two years after picking up the Chelsea pad for $40 million. The unit wasn’t listed for sale when the mystery buyer — identified as Walker Tower 1-8 LLC — came out of the woodwork, paying $6,678 per square foot.

7. 432 Park Avenue, Unit 64A | $44.8 million

Bennett LeBow, chairman of Douglas Elliman’s parent company, Vector Group, made a big splash at  432 Park this year. He dropped $44.8 million on a 64th-floor apartment. LeBow bought the full-floor condo in April, joining partner Howard Lorber, who bought a half-floor unit on the 67th floor.

8. 432 Park Avenue, Unit 82B | $43.3 million

At $43.4 million, Unit 82B was one of the year’s priciest sales — and the condo is just one of two units a mystery buyer picked up for a combined $62 million. Property records show buyer Blessings Investments also paid $18.6 million for Unit 82A, giving the LLC a full floor at the ritzy tower.

9. 33 East 74th Street | $42.8 million

Russian billionaire Alexey Kuzmichev, head of Russia’s Alfa Bank, dropped $42.8 million on the 10,000-square-foot Atterbury Mansion at 33 East 74th Street, which he planned to combine with a smaller unit, but then changed his mind. In September, he listed the quadplex for $44 million.

10. 20 West 53rd Street, PH | $42.6 million

A mystery buyer paid $42.6 million for the penthouse at the Baccarat Hotel & Residences — a nearly 30 percent discount from the condo’s original price. The buyer — identified in public records as PH 20 West 53rd LLC — snagged the 7,381-square-foot duplex in July for $5,771 per square foot.