A trio of townhouses helped Manhattan’s multi-million dollar housing market avoid the January blues.
Twenty-six contracts were signed last week at $4 million and above in Manhattan, representing the best first week of January in three years, according to Olshan Realty’s weekly report released Monday. This was up from 15 contracts the previous week and 23 in the same period last year.
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The three most expensive contracts were all townhouses, with 269 West 11th St. in the West Village topping that list. It was asking $30 million, raised from $26 million when it debuted on the market back in September.
This five-story house has 8,540 square feet, and was last purchased for $20.89 million in August 2014. The seller, who bought under the LLC 269 West 11th, had not renovated since purchasing it back in 2014, but it is being sold with a set of plans designed by architect Annabelle Selldorf and approved by the city.
The previous owner, lawyer Arthur Schwartz, bought the 1836 Greek Revival for just under $500,000 in 2003 and made a huge profit, selling it to that buyer under an LLC for $20.89 million, according to city property records.
In second place this week was 34 East 74th St. on the Upper East Side, a five-story, five-bedroom townhouse asking $19.9 million, reduced from $26 million when it went on the market last April.
Not only does the house come with an over-700-square-foot garden and two terraces, it also counts millionaire newspaper executive Harry F. Guggenheim (nephew of Solomon R. Guggenheim, who set up the eponymous museum) among its past residents, according to Luxury Listings.
The third priciest home was 3 Riverside Drive, also known as the Kleeberg Mansion, one of Manhattan’s historic 19th century townhouses.
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The 18-room mansion on the Upper West Side saw its asking price slashed almost in half from $36 million to $18.5 million. The seller is New York real estate developer Regina Kislin, according to city property records.