Has the supply of New York’s high-end condominiums finally outpaced billionaires’ appetite to buy?
Sales are slowing at the city’s priciest new developments, a sign that the supply of luxury units has finally caught up with demand, according to the New York Daily News.
At One57, Extell’s billionaire-filled glass tower, where the average price-per-square-foot is $6,888, sales are creeping along slowly. The building was 70 percent sold by this time last year, and has since only inched up to 75 percent.
And at 432 Park Avenue, developers CIM Group and Macklowe Properties recently solicited the help of outside brokerages to accelerate sales — a sign that they are getting nervous, according to the Daily News.
Though there is no shortage of billionaires who want a piece of New York real estate, those who can afford the city’s priciest pads are feeling less pressure to buy as ultra-luxe properties flood the market. The number of Manhattan units listed at over $40 million is currently 43. That’s a 48 percent increase from this time last year, according to the Daily News.
The change also signals that record-breaking prices in the high-end market might be hitting their peak.
“[The luxury market] was the last part of the market to come back after 2008 and it may be the first one to topple over,” Donna Olshan, owner of luxury brokerage Olshan Realty, told the Daily News. “The market could become very fragile if too much product at that end piles up.” [NYDN] — Sasha von Oldershausen