Manhattan Luxury Contends With Shrinking New Dev Pipeline

Manhattan is logging fewer inked deals for luxury new development properties.

Over the last four weeks, buyers have signed just 12 contracts to purchase sponsor units in the borough asking $4 million or more, a significant drop-off from the decade average of 28 for the same period, according to a report from Olshan Realty.

That decline is due to a waning new development pipeline in Manhattan, which has resulted in a 62 percent decrease in new construction inventory over the last year, according to data from appraiser Jonathan Miller.

Despite a drop in new development supply, Manhattan’s luxury market still snagged 27 signed deals for homes asking $4 million or more between July 13 and July 19. The total was down slightly from 29 deals inked in the previous period.

The priciest home to enter contract was a penthouse at 73 Wooster Street in Soho, which had an asking price of $27 million. The duplex, which last traded for $16 million in 2024, sold in an off-market deal.

Unit PHA spans 4,900 square feet and has three bedrooms and three bathrooms. It also features a gas fireplace, 15-foot ceilings and a rooftop terrace with a swimming pool.

Douglas Elliman’s Gavin Shiminski and Jonathan Stein had the listing.

The second most expensive property to find a buyer was a condo at Witkoff Group and Access Industries’ One High Line in West Chelsea, with an asking price of $14.6 million. The apartment, Unit West 26D, spans 3,800 square feet and has four bedrooms and four bathrooms. It also features floor-to-ceiling windows and views of the Hudson River.

Amenities in the two-tower project, which the developers bought from a $1 billion foreclosure in 2021, include a fitness center, lap pool, golf simulator, garage and access to services at the attached Faena Hotel.

The final penthouse at 500 West 18th Street found a buyer last month, with an asking price of roughly $27 million. Unit West PH35B was one of 12 penthouses at the project, the first 10 of which closed for an average of $4,800 per square foot.

A team with Corcoran Sunshine, led by Steve Gold, heads sales at the project, which last year surpassed $1 billion in sales, eight years after it first began marketing.

Of the 27 homes to enter contract, 17 were condos, five were co-ops and five were townhouses.

The properties were priced at a combined $205 million, which works out to an average of $7.6 million and a median of $6.3 million. The typical home was on the market for more than a year and was discounted by 7 percent.