By: Hadassa Kalatizadeh
After last week’s disappointing luxury market report, there was a considerable uptick this week.
As reported by Crain’s NY, there were twenty-one luxury deals inked last week for homes priced at $4 million or more, as per data from Olshan Realty. The upward trend was given its momentum by 17 condo deals, two co-ops and two townhouses. The total number of deals is close to triple the number signed the week before. The week prior had marked the weakest week since the summer of 2020—which was the peak of the pandemic. There had been just eight such luxury contracts signed that week, compared to the pandemic low of six. The 10-year average for the third week of August is more than double that–at 17, as per the Olshan data. The total sales volume for the eight contracts the previous week was $61.6 million, making the average asking price about $7.7 million. This past week, the total sales volume was significantly stronger at $153.1 million, with an average asking price of about $7.28 million.
As per Crain’s, the most expensive contract to close this past week was a townhouse at 2 E. 82nd St in the Upper East Side neighborhood, last asking $25 million. The price was slashed from the original asking price of $32 million sought in 2019. The rare 25-foot-wide townhouse was designed in 1901 as a single-family home for Albert Gould Jennings, son of a rich lace manufacturer, who lived there with his wife until 1940. The home was currently owned by the Marymount School of New York, which previous report used it as a middle school. The 12,300-square-foot house boasts a limestone and brick facade and is decorated with wrought-iron railings and detailed carvings. It has six floors and a commercial elevator. The interior was renovated in 2003 by Marymount to accommodate a school. It will need to be renovated again to turn it back into a home, Olshan reported.
The second most pricey home to enter into contract last week, was condo 26/27D at 1965 Broadway in Lincoln Square. The asking price was revised to $13.95 million. It had previously listed for $14.95 million in March 2021. The duplex unit spans 4,800 square feet, with five bedrooms, six bathrooms, two powder rooms and a library, as per the listing. It boasts sweeping views of Central Park, lots of natural light and oversized windows. The home is in mint condition and includes top of the line appliances. The 32-story building, built in 1997, offers a 24-hour doorman, a concierge, and a live-in resident manager.
The uptick in the number of transactions was a relief to market watchers who had worried the previous week about the hefty decline. It could be a factor of rising interest rates, the struggling stock market and a migration of residents leaving Manhattan for the summer, Olshan real estate firm’s President, Donna Olshan had written in the previous report.
