Number of 2021 Luxury Manhattan Contracts Are Double 2020 Figure

In the first three quarters of the year, the number of Manhattan luxury contracts inked was double what it was in 2020 and 42 percent of 2019’s haul.

But the weekly volume of signed contracts is trailing off in recent weeks. Last week there were 22 purchase contracts signed for Manhattan homes asking $4 million or more, according to Olshan Realty’s weekly luxury contract report. There were 27 contracts signed in the borough the week prior.

“The slowdown started in August through Labor Day and we don’t know if it’s just temporary seasonality or if it’s more meaningful,” said Donna Olshan, the report’s author. “But when you have any market go on an extended tear for so long of course you have to ask the question is it too hot not to cool down.”

The most expensive contract was for a duplex co-op at 720 Park Avenue, a prestigious white-glove building that does not permit financing. The seven-bedroom residence was listed in October 2019 for $22 million. By the time it found a buyer last week, the asking price had been chopped down to $15.9 million. The sellers had bought the apartment for $12 million in 2006 and did an extensive three-year renovation starting 2008, according to the report.

The second priciest agreement was a condo at 443 Greenwich Street, the West Village building favored by celebrities. The 3,883-square-foot apartment has four bedrooms and spent five weeks on the market before a buyer locked down the unit, which was last asking just under $13 million. The seller paid almost $11.3 million for the residence in 2017.

Of last week’s 22 contracts, 14 of the properties were condos, four were co-ops and four were townhouses.

The median asking price was $6.6 million with an average of 538 days on the market. The average discount from the original ask to the last ask was 5 percent, down slightly from the week before.