Donald Trump’s buildings in New York City are slightly more resilient than others against the luxury market softening, new research released Wednesday has found.
While the overall Manhattan Luxury Price Index declined to $3,206,519 in July, representing a 1.58% decrease from the same month last year, the price of apartments in the 16 Trump-branded towers in Manhattan, known as “The Trump Index,” has climbed 5.42% to $1,674,797, according to real estate portal StreetEasy.com.
In comparison, StreetEasy’s Non-Trump Index dropped 7.96% to $2,570,032 in July. “Non-Trump Index” identifies 13 “non-Trump” residential buildings in Manhattan that were similar in age, size, location and price point.
The main reason that Trump buildings are still showing yearly price growth, is that “Trump buildings are typically priced on the lower end of luxury,” explained Krishna Rao, an economist at StreetEasy.
According to the index, many units in Trump buildings are not truly luxury properties, which are defined as properties at the top 20% of the market. Many are on the older side, and can’t compare with high-end, brand new developments.
“They offer many of the same amenities as luxury buildings and have distinct cache, but are less expensive compared to the bona fide luxury segment of the Manhattan market,” StreetEasy said in the report.
Write to Fang Block at fang.block@dowjones.com