Coronavirus chaos didn’t dampen luxury contract signings last week

Concerns about COVID-19 may have sunk stocks last week, but they didn’t appear to have any effect on Manhattan’s luxury home market.

Twenty-seven properties above $4 million went into contract between February 24 and March 1, according to a report from Olshan Realty. It was the highest-performing week since November and matched the total from the same week in 2018.

The signings came at a time of global volatility as countries struggled to contain the coronavirus outbreak and allay fears about transmission.

“When you get a disruption like this, sometimes people want to nest,” said Donna Olshan, head of Olshan Realty and author of the report.

She noted that last week’s deals were likely in the works for a couple of weeks, however, meaning the true effect of the virus on buyer psychology will become clearer in the weeks ahead.

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The total haul, composed of 18 condos, six co-ops and three townhouses, included the homes of fashion designer Marc Jacobs and the late film and television producer Brad Alan Grey.

Jacobs’ four-story, 4,796-square-foot townhouse was first listed last April and was marketed at various points using two different addresses: 400 West 12th St and 68 Bethune St. It went into contract asking $12 million, just one day after it was relisted by Nest Seekers International brokers Ryan Serhant and Donna Strugatz. It was the third priciest signing last week.

The number-one spot was a $16.25 million townhouse at 125 East 92nd Street, first listed last September. The 7,640-square-foot property has six bedrooms, four bathrooms and three fireplaces.

The estate of Brad Grey finally found a buyer for its 26th-floor residence at 35 East 76th Street, which was first listed in 2015 for $22.5 million and cycled through several brokers before getting down to a final asking price of $10 million.

The average discount across the properties, from original to asking, was 10 percent.

Write to Sylvia Varnham O’Regan at so@therealdeal.com