After a lull in January, buyer interest in the city’s most expensive pads has picked up significantly.
In the period between Jan. 30 through Feb. 5, a total of 34 contracts were signed on properties priced $4 million and above, according to Olshan Realty. That figure is the highest for a first week of February since Olshan began tracking luxury contracts in 2006. The lower end of the luxury market was particularly strong, with half of all contracts signed on properties asking between $4 million and $5.5 million.
Out of the 37 contracts, 23 were on condominiums (with an average ask of $6.6 million). There were nine contracts signed on co-ops ($5.4 million), and two on townhouses ($5.3 million).
The top contract was on two co-ops at the Beresford at 211 Central Park West. Apartment 10A was asking $7.4 million and 10B was asking $6.1 million. Combined, the apartments offer 13 rooms and a 62-foot expanse overlooking west 81st Street. The Emery Roth-designed building is a famed celebrity haunt. Last year, Cosmopolitan editor Helen Gurley Brown sold her penthouse in the building for $19.3 million. Comedian Jerry Seinfeld also lives there.
The No. 2 contract was on apartment 18D at JDS Development Group and Property Market Group’s [TRDataCustom] Walker Tower, located at 212 West 18th Street. The 2,850-square-foot apartment was asking $11.49 million or $4,033 per square foot, following a number of price reductions from its original asking price of $15.6 million. It last sold in March 2014 for $11.43 million.
According to Olshan Realty, the median asking price last week was $5.5 million. The average discount from original ask to last asking price was seven percent. The total weekly asking price sales volume was $212.7 million, and the average number of days on the market was 352.
In the first week of February last year, a total of 21 contracts were signed on properties asking more than $4 million, with a median asking price of $5.4 million. [Olshan] — Miriam Hall