Luxury sales in Manhattan have reached their highest point this year as desperate sellers cut prices.
Thirty-three contracts were signed last week at $4 million and above, three more than the previous week’s 2016 record, and the highest number in the year to date, according to Olshan Realty’s latest luxury report.
However, the report cautioned that this has only been achieved through sellers slashing prices. Last week, the average price drop was 11% below the original asking price. The properties sat on the market for an average of 366 days.
For the entire month of May, the average price drop was 7% from the original asking price with 275 days on the market compared to 4% and 211 days in May 2015, according to the report.
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Last week, the No. 1 contract was an apartment at 15 Central Park West, one of the most expensive condominiums in New York. It changed hands for $29.95 million, but this was reduced from $36.5 million when it went on the market last August. In 2008, the apartment sold for $27 million.
The 2,846 square-foot apartment has 3 bedrooms and a 22-foot terrace that faces Central Park. Amenities in the building include a 14,000-square-foot fitness center that has a 75-foot pool, a private restaurant for residents only and a games room.
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At $25.5 million, the second most expensive sale last week was in Walker Tower in Chelsea. However, this was almost $10 million below the original asking price from last August, when it went on the market last August. This 4-bedroom, 4.5-bath duplex has 4,871 square feet and 2 terraces and was last sold in 2014 for $17.2 million.