Manhattan luxury saw its fourth straight week of lackluster activity, with only 16 contracts signed for high-end homes, according to a weekly report from Olshan Realty.
Last week was the fourth in a row that fewer than 20 homes priced over $4 million found buyers. The Independence Day holiday week typically heralds in a slower pace of sales as buyers jet off to sunny escapes outside the city.
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"Summer doldrums or a trending weakness in the market? Time will tell," wrote Donna Olshan, author of the report and president of the brokerage.
Transaction data from the second quarter of this year indicates that the downward trend likely has more to do with the season than the market. The latest report from brokerage Douglas Elliman shows a sharp increase in luxury activity in Manhattan as sellers got real about lowering prices—a trend that’s been a long time coming, according to the report’s author, Jonathan Miller of appraisal firm Miller Samuel.
In the week ending Sunday, luxury contracts signed totaled an unremarkable $122.56 million.
The top contract last week was for a four-bedroom condo at 551 West 21st St. in Chelsea, asking $17.5 million. If it closes at asking, the seller will make a respectable profit on the unit in a short amount of time. The seller bought the unit in September for $16.9 million and promptly put it on the market after closing.
The second priciest home to find a buyer last week was a townhouse on East 64th Street asking $13.9 million. The seller originally wanted $15.5 million for it when it hit the market in April 2016. The 21-foot wide rowhouse has 7,500 square feet of interior space with offices constructed on the first floor.