Discounts for Manhattan’s luxury homes have shrunk

Sales volume for homes asking over $4 million remains strong

220 Central Park South with Michael Cantanucci and 378 West End Avenue (Photos via Getty Images, Jim.henderson/Wikimedia, 378WEA)
220 Central Park South with Michael Cantanucci and 378 West End Avenue (Photos via Getty Images, Jim.henderson/Wikimedia, 378WEA)

As the pace of luxury home sales sets records, price drops have narrowed.

For contracts signed last week for Manhattan homes asking more than $4 million, the average discount between the first and final asking price was 8 percent — about what it has been for the past two months. But the year-to-date average discount is 11 percent, according to the Olshan Report.

“It is tightening up,” said Donna Olshan, the report’s author. “Since the first week in May we have been seeing tightening.” The report does not include closing prices, so whether the trend translates into smaller purchase discounts remains to be seen.

The rate of luxury home sales has been strong for several months. Last week contracts were signed for 41 Manhattan homes asking over $4 million, the 20th consecutive week that the number has surpassed 30.

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One of those deals, a penthouse at Alchemy Properties’ 378 West End Avenue, set a local record, said Olshan. The nearly 6,170-square-foot triplex went into contract last week asking $26 million, which would be the highest price on that Upper West Side corridor if it closed at that price.

The most expensive contract inked last week was at 220 Central Park South. Luxury car dealership owner Michael Cantanucci found a buyer for his duplex on the 54th and 55th stories of the world’s most profitable condo project. Cantanucci bought the unit off floor plans and paid about $38 million when the deal closed in 2019. He was asking $49.5 million.

Last week’s deals included 29 condo units, seven co-operative units and five townhouses. Developers owned 16 of the condos that went into contract.