Manhattan luxury housing has just recorded its worst January since the market bottomed out in 2012—a bleak month even big celebrity sales failed to brighten, according to Monday’s Olshan Report.
In the week ending Sunday, buyers signed only 15 contracts priced over $4 million, capping a slow month in which a total of 68 high-end homes went into contract, according to the weekly report by Olshan Realty.
More:Manhattan Luxury Real Estate Went Out with a Fizzle in 2017
Bruce Willis’s Upper West Side duplex was the most expensive home to go into contract last week—asking $17.75 million. The six-bedroom co-op at 271 Central Park West was on the market for only a week before finding a buyer, according to listing records.
Mr. Willis bought the co-op in March 2015 for nearly $17 million, according to the report.
January tends to be a weak month for the housing sales in general, exacerbated by extremely cold temperatures for most of the month, said Donna Olshan, the president of Olshan Realty and author of the report.
Additionally: "Some customers paused to assess the impact of the new tax law, which was signed in late December," Ms. Olshan said in the report.
More:Bruce Willis Lists Home on Central Park West for $17.75 Million
January was marked by old inventory getting big discounts and finally selling. Last week, the average home was on the market for 566 days and got an average listing discount of 16%.
As an example: The second-most expensive home to find a buyer was the rear carriage house at 131 Charles Street in the West Village. The house sold for $10.8 million, 20% less than the sellers originally asked when they listed it in April 2015.