The highest number of contracts this year were signed last week at $4 million and above in Manhattan — but only after many sellers agreed to hefty price cuts.
According to Olshan Realty’s weekly snapshot of Manhattan’s luxury market, 35 luxury Manhattan homes changed hands last week, up from just 19 the previous week and 24 in the week commencing May 30.
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However, Olshan believes that this was only achieved after desperate sellers, whose properties were languishing on the market, were forced to cut prices by an average of 11% from the original asking price amid a glut of luxury homes for sale. The average property was on the market for a lengthy 311 days.
“The luxury market is bloated and choking with a lot of over-priced inventory, but once sellers capitulate and adjust to realistic price levels, the market moves. Not coincidentally, the May and June weeks that showed the strongest activity of the year were also those that saw prices slashed,” said Donnan Olshan, president at Olshan.
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The No. 1 contract last week was a townhouse at 18 East 69th Street on the Upper East Side, which sold for $22 million and was reduced from $26 million when it went on the market last July. The 24-foot-wide, five-story house has 7,831 square feet.
It was purchased for $13.25 million in March 2012, and then gut renovated, divided into three spaces: a retail store on the first two floors, a duplex 3-bedroom, and a penthouse 2- bedroom unit.
At $19.5 million, the second most expensive sale was a 3,629-square-foot condo at 150 Charles Street in Manhattan’s West Village. It was purchased in January for $16.8 million and relisted in May. It has five bedrooms, 5.5 bathrooms, and two terraces, with direct views of the Hudson River.
That building, 150 Charles, was one a big new condo hit, selling almost all its 91 units off of floor plans in the spring of 2013. Amenities include concierge, garage, fitness center, 75-foot pool, a children’s playroom, and 33,000 square feet of landscaped garden space.
It was reported today that actor Ben Stiller has become the latest celebrity to snap up a home in the development, splashing over $15 million on a 3,395-square-foot four bedroom condo. His neighbors will include singer Jon Bon Jovi and Russian supermodel Irina Shayk.
| Number of contracts signed | Average number of days on the market | Average listing discount | |
| W/c 30 May | 24 | 209 | 5% |
| W/c 6 June | 19 | 350 | 6% |
| W/c 13 June | 35 | 311 | 11% |