On the heels of a stellar year for the luxury market, the most expensive apartments put under contract last week saw price reductions, according to Olshan Realty’s weekly market report. The cuts mirrored the trend for all of 2014.
For the week of Dec. 29 to Jan. 4, the No. 1 contract, Unit 71C at the Residences at the Mandarin Oriental, was most recently asking close to $23 million, down from the original list price of $25 million in September 2013. Douglas Elliman’s Jacky Teplitzky and William Martin had the listing.
For the full year, the average price decline before a contract signing was 4 percent compared with 3 percent in 2013.
“I think you’ll see a lot of sellers test the market with high prices,” said Donna Olshan, president of Olshan Realty. “Nobody knows the [price] threshold.
The second largest contract last week, 737 Park Avenue’s Unit 8C, was most recently asking $10.1 million. That’s a reduction from $10.86 million in March 2013. The unit has 2,915 square feet with 3 bedrooms and 3.5 bathrooms. The building is being converted from rentals to condos by Macklowe Properties. Deborah Kern and Hilary Landis of the Corcoran Group had the listing.
The No. 3 contract, Unit 35A at 111 West 67th Street, was most recently listed at $8.8 million, down from the original asking price of $9.5 million in November 2013. Brown Harris Stevens’ Lisa Lippman and Scott Moore had the listing.
In recent months, other high-profile luxury properties have sold at a discount. For example, a condo at Extell Development’s One57 closed in December at a 20 percent discount to its asking price, according to property records. Unit 64A sold for $24.8 million, less than the $31 million asking price listed on Douglas Elliman’s website.
Meanwhile, the penthouse at the Pierre Hotel had its asking price of $125 million lowered to $95 million.
Despite the price cuts, 2014 was a strong year for properties priced $4 million and up, according to Olshan’s report. Sales hit a total of $11.3 billion last year, up from $10.8 billion in 2013.