Manhattan luxury deals hold despite election uncertainty

Seventeen contract signed last week, same number as week prior

170 East End Avenue and 122 East 78th Street (Google Maps)
170 East End Avenue and 122 East 78th Street (Google Maps)

Election results trickled in at a glacial pace last week, but Manhattan’s luxury market continued its steady march forward.

Buyers struck deals for 17 properties priced above $4 million, according to the latest market report from Olshan Realty. The total included 14 condos, two townhouses and just one co-op.

Taken in the context of the pandemic, the weekly total is a jump from the worst of the lockdown, when deals averaged four per week. It’s also in line with a gradual upward trend in the luxury market that’s emerged in recent months.

“I think [the market is] trying to stabilize,” said Donna Olshan, author of the report. “Looking ahead, I would expect we may have some choppy weeks, but overall it’s indicating, maybe, that the worst is behind us.”

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The priciest deal last week was for a condo at 170 East End Avenue in Yorkville, which was last asking $10 million. The 3,619-square-foot apartment has five bedrooms, five and a half bathrooms and a 1,650-square-foot terrace.

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Leslie Modell of Sotheby’s International Realty, who represented the buyers, told Olshan they were New Yorkers who were adamant about finding a home with a terrace because of the pandemic.

“I showed them other apartments with outdoor space but nothing was like this,” she said. “It was the uniqueness of the terrace that made it an interesting opportunity for them.”

The second-priciest deal was a townhouse at 112 East 78th Street on the Upper East Side. The 16-foot-wide property was last asking $8.995 million, down from $9.25 million when it was listed in August.

The sellers purchased it for $8.5 million in 2006, according to Olshan’s report. It has five bedrooms, four and a half bathrooms, a garden, a gym and a wine cellar with room for more than 1,000 bottles.

Listing broker Curtis Jackson of Brown Harris Stevens told Olshan he had a long history with the sellers, which made it easier to adjust the price accordingly.

“We analyzed the homes in the area and we wanted the price to stand out,” he said. “We priced it to sell.”