Four months in and 2021 has officially bested all of 2020 when it comes to luxury real estate deals in Manhattan.
Last week saw 41 luxury contracts signed in the borough, bringing the total number of deals so far this year to 652, according to Olshan Realty’s weekly report. That’s seven more than were signed in all of 2020.
And the total dollar amount for luxury contracts signed in the first four months of 2021 is more than $5.5 billion. That’s compared to the entirety of 2020, when the total volume of signed contracts was over $5 billion.
The final week of April also marked the 13th week that more than 30 luxury contracts — for properties asking $4 million or more — were signed in the borough, the longest stretch of elevated contract activity for the luxury market since the Olshan report launched in 2006.
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Donna Olshan, the report’s author, called it “an incredible market by any standard,” but also noted that 2020 was a “garbage year” that skews comparisons due to the low volume of deals during the first months of the pandemic. For example, during the final week of April in 2020, there was just one luxury contract signed.
But even compared to the years before the pandemic, 2021’s numbers aren’t looking too shabby. In 2019, for example, there were 817 luxury contracts signed over 12 months.
The average asking price per square foot for condominium contracts, which dominate the luxury market, is also on par with previous years.So far this year, it’s $2,835 per square foot, compared to $2,802 in 2019, and $2,733 in 2020.
Olshan also noted that the average size of luxury condo units that have gone into contract increased about 8 percent so far this year to an average of more than 3,000 square feet. That’s compared to about 2,800 square feet, which was typical from 2013 until last year.
Of last week’s 41 contracts, the most expensive was a penthouse at Silverstein Properties’ 30 Park Place in the Financial District. The five-bedroom duplex was initially asking $29.5 million when sales launched at the new development building in 2014. The price was later reduced to $25 million. The unit spans 5,937 square feet with a 434-square-foot outdoor loggia.
The second priciest contract was for a penthouse at Midwood Investment and EJS Real Estate’s 150 East 78th Street on the Upper East Side. The 4,593-square-foot duplex has five bedrooms, an expansive living room with a fireplace and 594 square feet of outdoor terraces. It was last asking $20 million.