Manhattan’s luxury contracts notched a record January

Penthouse asking $36M led last week, capping off month’s 102 signed contracts

151 East 58th Street and 15 East 69th Street in Manhattan (Compass, Kuper Realty/Sotheby's International Realty, Illustration by Kevin Cifuentes for The Real Deal)
151 East 58th Street and 15 East 69th Street in Manhattan (Compass, Kuper Realty/Sotheby's International Realty, Illustration by Kevin Cifuentes for The Real Deal)

UPDATED, Feb. 1, 2022, 9 a.m.: Manhattan’s luxury market started 2022 with a bang.

January had 102 contracts signed at $4 million or above in the borough, according to Olshan Realty. That’s the most since the firm began tracking in 2006.

The record month ended with 29 contracts signed between Jan. 24 and 30, the highest among the few weeks since the new year.

The priciest unit to go into contract was PH51/52W at 151 East 58th Street, which asked $36 million. The price at signing is a steep drop from the $115 million it was listed for eight years ago. 

The unidentified sellers bought the apartment in June 2021 for $30.5 million from billionaire hedge fund manager Steven A. Cohen. The sale came after the New York Mets owner cycled through four brokerage firms over eight years in his attempts to sell the apartment, which he initially listed at $115 million.

(Streeteasy)

The unit was owned by New York Mets owner Steven Cohen. Over the past eight years, the billionaire hedge fund manager cycled through four brokerage firms in his attempts to sell the apartment.

The duplex condo spans 9,000 square feet, with five bedrooms and six and a half baths. It has 24-foot high ceilings in the living room and a 2,000-square-foot master suite.

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The second priciest contract was a duplex condo penthouse at 15 East 69th Street, asking $32 million. This unit also had a price reduction from the $45 million it asked for when it was first listed in May 2019. The unit was sold by the estate of Broadway producer Terry Allen Kramer, who died in 2019.

The apartment has 6,241 square feet across four bedrooms, five bathrooms, two powder rooms and over 2,000 square feet of terraces. The home also has a greenhouse and solarium, along with an entrance gallery. Additionally, the deal included a double-sized storage bin and a wine cellar.

The unit is in a building known as the Westbury, a hotel built in 1927 and converted into condos in 1999.

Twenty-three of the week’s contracts were for condos, while six were for co-ops.

The asking prices of all 29 contracts totaled $303 million. The average asking price was $10 million, while the median asking price was nearly $8 million. On average, there was a 7 percent discount from original ask to last asking price and units spent an average of 644 days on the market.

This article has been revised to reflect that the priciest listing was not sold by Steven A. Cohen, but was a resale by unidentified buyers.