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Luxury market ending 2019 on upswing after volatile year
It’s a buyer’s market as sellers continue to cut prices to move inventory
New York’s luxury market is ending 2019 on the upswing following a volatile year, though it remains a buyer’s market.
There were 11 contracts signed for properties above $4 million last week, according to the latest Olshan Realty luxury report.
While that figure could be seen as fairly typical, given the time of year, Donna Olshan called it an “encouraging continuation of the recent uptick in the luxury market,” according to the report.
During the same week last year, there were five luxury signings, 11 in 2017 and 15 in 2016.
There were no townhouses in the crop of contract signings last week; the list was composed of six condos and five co-ops. The median asking price was $5.5 million. The average discount from the original asking price to the final asking price was 12 percent.
The two priciest signings likely represented losses for the sellers, when commission and closing costs were taken into account, Olshan noted. That underscores the perils of the current luxury market and the pressure to cut prices, she added.
The priciest signing was for a 3,951-square-foot unit at 155 West 11th Street — part of Rudin’s Greenwich Lane development — which went into contract with an asking price of $17.5 million. The four-bedroom property was purchased by an LLC in 2016 for $16.9 million, and listed in February for $18.2 million. It features floor-to-ceiling windows, a private elevator landing and sweeping city views. Maria Pashby of Corcoran had the listing.
The second-priciest signing was for a 21st-floor co-op at 145-146 Central Park West in the San Remo. That went into contract with a final asking price of $12.5 million, down from the $17.5 million asking when it was originally listed in March 2018, and from the $13.5 million sale price in 2012.
The San Remo tower is known for its celebrity residents, who over the years have included Tiger Woods, Steven Spielberg, Donna Karan, Glenn Close and Steve Martin.
Write to Sylvia Varnham O’Regan at so@therealdeal.com