Manhattan’s luxury property market bounced back to life last week, with 28 contracts signed at $4 million and above. While this marked a 50% rise compared with the previous week — and was the joint highest so far this year — it was lower that the 32 signed contracts recorded in the same week in 2015, according to Olshan Realty’s weekly health check of Manhattan’s luxury housing market. The average asking price was $8.5 million, while the average number of days a property spent on the market was 280. At the same time, the average discount from the original asking price was 7%. For the second time in three weeks, the top slot went to a condo at 432 Park Avenue, the tallest residential tower in the western hemisphere. The 4,019-square-foot apartment on the 96th floor changed hands for $32.5 million. The new three-bed, four-and-a-half-bath has views of the city and Central Park; amenities include a fitness center, 75-foot pool, private dining, a garden and a children’s playroom. At $22.5 million, the second-most expensive sale was at 740 Park Avenue, although this was down from the original asking price of $29.5 million when it went on the market in September 2014. Designed by Alan Wanzenberg, this 15-room duplex co-op has four bedrooms, four and a half bathrooms and three maid’s rooms. 740 Park Avenue was the childhood residence of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. Current residents include fashion designer Vera Wang and Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman. These numbers follow a report by appraisal firm Miller Samuel (on behalf of Douglas Elliman Real Estate) that showed the average cost of a home sold in Manhattan in the first three months of 2016 crashed through the $2 million barrier. However, much of the credit for this boost went to luxury sales that had been in contract the last 18-plus months but closed in the first quarter of 2016, pushing average prices to a new high. More recently, there is anecdotal evidence of a slowdown in the luxury condo market, due to oversupply and investors made nervous by global economic uncertainty and the U.S. presidential election. MORE From Mansion Global:
