38 Luxury Contracts Signed in Manhattan Last Week

Manhattan’s luxury market appears to be back from its late-summer vacation.

Thirty-eight homes asking $4 million or more went into contract in the borough last week, according to Olshan Realty’s weekly report, the most in one week since July and the first time in five weeks that 30 or more such contracts were signed.

Of those deals, 31 were for condos. Nineteen were sold by developers.

“It was a big developer week,” said Donna Olshan, author of the report. “We had your typical summer-Labor Day lull and now the market is back on track.”

The most expensive contract inked last week was at 53W53, the Midtown tower developed by Hines and Pontiac Land and designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Jean Nouvel. The unit on the 74th floor spans 4,928 square feet, with views of Central Park and the Hudson and East Rivers. It was first listed for $38.9 million but had dropped to $35.5 million when it found a buyer last week.

The second priciest deal was for a quadruplex condo at 601 Washington Street in the West Village. The six-bedroom, 7,475-square-foot unit was asking nearly $31.4 million. The buyers are from Australia, according to the report. The unit’s four floors have a private elevator, two landscaped terraces and a balcony. A similar six-bedroom unit at 601 Washington, last asking $32.3 million, was Manhattan’s top contract the week before.

The median asking price for luxury units sold last week was $6.1 million, with an average of 627 days on the market. The average discount from the original ask to the last ask was 5 percent.

The remaining seven luxury sales included three deals for co-op units and four for townhouses.