Summer lull hits Manhattan’s luxury market

Contract signings drop to five-month low

109 East 79th Street and at 30 Riverside Boulevard (Photos via Noë & Associates with The Boundary, Google Maps and StreetEasy)
109 East 79th Street and at 30 Riverside Boulevard (Photos via Noë & Associates with The Boundary, Google Maps and StreetEasy)

Week after week, from February to the first week of July, more than 30 buyers signed contracts to purchase Manhattan homes asking more than $4 million.

The 22-week streak reflected an unprecedented wave of buyer activity that smashed the prior record of six weeks during the hot spring market of 2015.

But it’s over now.

The record-setting run came to an end last week when only 28 buyers penned contracts for luxury homes, according to the Olshan Report, which tracks the volume and value of Manhattan’s luxury contracts.

“We can’t cry,” said Donna Olshan, the report’s author. “It was a holiday week and all good things end at some point, but the market is still strong and we could be back to over 30 next week.”

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Last week’s deals included 24 condos, two co-operatives and two townhouses.

But even with fewer transactions, last week’s sales volume by final asking price was $248 million, above the combined asking prices of last week’s homes that went into contract: $237 million across 33 deals.

The average discount from the original to the final asking price increased, however. Last week’s average discount was 9 percent, up from 5 percent the week before.

The most expensive deal was a ground floor duplex on the Upper East Side. The 4,705-square-foot condo at 109 East 79th Street has five bedrooms, 13-foot ceilings and a 1,096-square-foot garden. The property was last asking $17.5 million. The buyer is from the tristate area, according to Olshan’s report.

The second priciest was a sprawling penthouse at 30 Riverside Boulevard, also known as Two Waterline Square, that was asking $17.25 million. The 4,694-square-foot pad has four bedrooms and a 1,763-square-foot terrace. The condo is one of the most expensive units in the three-building Waterline Square complex.