Over at One57—once the ultimate symbol of New York City’s seemingly insatiable thirst for ultra-luxury condominiums—another apartment is selling at a significant loss.
Unit 62A was bought by an LLC named Escape from New York for $31.67 million in April 2014, the same year the 90-story skyscraper designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Christian de Portzamparc was completed, according to public records.
Six months later, the buyer tried to make a profit by putting the three-bedroom apartment back on the market at $38.9 million. A year went by without a sale. After a change of brokers, it was relisted in November of 2015 for almost $10 million less, at $29.9 million, according to StreetEasy. After two more price cuts in May and September of this year, the residence was last asking $25 million.
More:Manhattan Luxury Homes Staying on the Market for Longer
But the trajectory of unit 62A, now under contract for an unspecified amount, is far from isolated. As the high-end condo craze in New York City eases and the market continues to cool off amid an oversupply of apartments and lower demand, other units in the same luxury tower overlooking Central Park—which briefly held the title of the tallest residential tower in the city—have recently sold at a loss.
Apartment 64B changed hands in July for $21.5 million, a 23.5% discount from its original asking price. In December, unit 51C sold at $17.75 million and unit 44C at $17 million, 6.55% and 11.65% less than what they initially listed for, respectively, according to StreetEasy.
And some apartments are simply not moving. A three-bedroom unit at One57, 65A, sold for $29.3 million in 2014. It re-entered the market in October of 2015 at $35.5 million. After several cuts that have brought its current price to $29.5 million, it is still awaiting a buyer.
More:Luxury Home Prices in Manhattan Continued to Slide in July
Price reductions are not only happening at One57 but at other prime properties as well.
Prices for luxury residential real estate in Manhattan declined for the 10th consecutive month in July, marking "a point of oversaturation," said Krishna Rao, an economist at StreetEasy. The real estate data provider’s most recent report on the city also showed homes across the board in Manhattan are taking longer to change hands and sellers are receiving a median of 97.7% of their original asking prices.
And just last week, the average discount from original asking price to last asking price for properties sold at $4 million and above in Manhattan was 14%, according to Olshan Realty’s weekly market snapshot. During the week of August 29, luxury residences spent an average of 398 days on the market, compared to 283 a year ago.
A look at the price history on StreetEasy for other luxury condos currently for sale shows sellers are willing to take deep cuts.
For example, the penthouse at 12 East 13th Street has seen its price decreased by 36% since it first came to the market in mid-2014. It was first listed at $30.5 million, reduced to $26.5 million in October of 2015 and lowered again to $22.5 million in December of last year. The four-bedroom, six-bathroom residence, which is the last unit available at the 12-home new development in Greenwich Village, is now listed for $19.5 million.
The penthouse at 12 East 13th Street has seen its price decreased by 36% since it first came to the market in mid-2014.
Cantor PecorellaSeparately, a two-bedroom condominium at the Residences at The Ritz-Carlton on Central Park South was listed at $50 million in May 2015 only to see its price reduced by 10% in October 2015 to $45 million. The full-floor, 4,536-square-foot unit saw two more reductions in February and in July, bringing it to its current price tag of $35 million, down 30% from a year ago.
A condominium at the Residences at The Ritz-Carlton on Central Park South was listed at $50 million in May 2015. Its current asking price is $35 million.
Sotheby's International RealtyThen there’s the full-floor condominium on 515 Park Avenue that is now selling at $10.5 million, a 27.5% discount from its asking price a year ago. The unit overtaking the 18th floor was listed in September of 2015 at $14.5 million.
Jonathan Miller of real estate appraisal and consultancy firm Miller Samuel Inc. said that Manhattan luxury sellers are coming to the realization that they need to price their properties according to the new market condition, which is weaker than a few years ago.
"In a market segment where price trends are somewhere between flat and declining, an overpriced listing, by definition, will not sell," Mr. Miller said.