33 Luxury Manhattan apartments priced at $4 million and up went to contract last week marking the best late June week since records were kept by Olshan Realty. Could this be a turning point in the luxury market as the pipeline begins to dry up. There is still a lot of inventory out there that needs to be absorbed but market conditions in favor of buyers do not usually last long in Manhattan.
Category Archives: Luxury
5000 new apartments coming to the market in new development in 2018
According to the latest reports, about 4600 new condo units will be listed this year in NYC. That is in addition to over 3000 that came online in 2017. Given that new development without an amazing location, is selling slowly that sounds like a lot of choices for buyers and anxiety for developers.
Ziel Feldman is bringing to market $3.4 billion in inventory within two projects. One is the Upper West side conversion of the Belnord with large units over 2000 square feet and another is the twisting condo towers known as XI on the Highline. Both projects come with starchitect pedigrees with Robert A.M. Stern redesigning the Belnord and Bjarke Ingels handling the designing of the new construction Highline condo.
More details on Belnord and XI
Previous luxury market coverage
The Author- 
Brian Silvestry , a licensed real estate broker, has been selling residential and commercial real estate since 1999. He has sold in every neighborhood from Battery Park City to Washington Heights.
Manhattan rental market stabilizing as sales market continues to slide
According to the latest report by Streeteasy, the Manhattan rental market is stabilizing ahead of the peak summer rental season as the sales market is still declining. I think this is supporting by what I am seeing with the summer rental market in full swing and the sales market struggling especially as owner’s expectations come to grips with the new buyer market conditions.
The median asking price on the upper west side of Manhattan is down about 10% year over year but this is also skewed by new development impact which pulls the median asking price higher. Now that the market has slowed, new development activity has slowed and the smart developers are bringing to market more affordable luxury product.
The Author- Brian Silvestry , a licensed real estate broker, has been selling residential and commercial real estate since 1999. He has sold in every neighborhood from Battery Park City to Washington Heights.
Top Manhattan buildings outperformed stock market over the last decade according to report
According to a recent report by City Realty, buildings such as 15 Central Park west out performed the stock market over the last decade. Buildings with tons of amenities, famous architects(starchitects) and celebrity residents certainly do get lots of attention but are they truly worth the investment? According to the report, the compound annual growth rate at 15 CPW was 6.84% compared to stock market which was -2% and gold which was 3.2%.
Recently, I had a client that sold their Manhattan townhouse for $15 million to an investor. Is this a good investment for the buyer? According to most experienced Manhattan real estate brokers, 2016 was more or less the peak of the ultra luxury market and since then we are in a buyer’s market. There are certainly a fair amount of coverage in the press of buyers who are liquidating investments in ultra luxury, new development buildings that are being sold for less than they paid.
One strategy to increase liquidity, would be to split that investment up to smaller investments. The 2 bedroom/2 bathroom market continues to be a sweet spot as it’s the family sized apartment that is within reach of many buyers. Also, performing really well now is the multi-family market. Would it have made more sense to buy a 1-2 buildings with anywhere from 6-40 units? With professional management, these properties have been performing well and continue to perform well right now as there is a shortage of inventory.
The Author- Brian Silvestry , a licensed real estate broker, has been selling residential and commercial real estate since 1999. He has sold in every neighborhood from Battery Park City to Washington Heights.
21 luxury contracts were signed last week
Manhattan’s luxury market continues to record strong sales this spring with 21 contracts signed last week for properties at $4mm and above. Roughly half of those contracts were signed for downtown properties.
The Author- Brian Silvestry , a licensed real estate broker, has been selling residential and commercial real estate since 1999. He has sold in every neighborhood from Battery Park City to Washington Heights.
24 luxury contracts signed last week
24 Luxury contracts were signed last week for property $4mm and above in Manhattan. Discounts drove the action as the average discount from the listing price is over 10%. It’s not unusual that property owners who purchased in the last 3 years are selling at a loss in order to liquidate.
In other reports, rents are still trending down with concessions like free month’s rent and owner paid broker fees fueling activity especially in new developments where 90% of the apartments were rented with concessions. Just under half (44%) of the new leases signed in Manhattan in April included concessions.
Does it make sense for a Manhattan owner to pay the broker fee?
The Author- Brian Silvestry , a licensed real estate broker, has been selling residential and commercial real estate since 1999. He has sold in every neighborhood from Battery Park City to Washington Heights.
How much can you negotiate on a Manhattan apartment?
Since the current market conditions are heavily in favor of buyers in Manhattan’s residential market, now is the time that you can negotiate more on a potential purchase. According to the latest market reports, in Manhattan’s luxury market, the average discount from asking price to sale price is somewhere around 8-9% percent. With new development, this number can be tougher to gauge because developers are loathe to discount the sale price but instead offer incentives from the mundane like paying transfer and mansion taxes to offering a free parking space. Generally, though now is the time when you can do a bit of negotiating but you really need to understand how motivated the seller is, how long the property has been in the market and how long the competing listings are staying on the market. In this market, some buyers might even make multiple bids and play one against another to see who will cut the best deal.
Patience is the key in today’s market as I have told a couple of buyers. Depending on the segment, you may need to let the market come to you as the seller’s expectations become more in line with the current conditions.
The Author- Brian Silvestry , a licensed real estate broker, has been selling residential and commercial real estate since 1999. He has sold in every neighborhood from Battery Park City to Washington Heights.
Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard leases pad in 72 story luxury tower in Midtown
Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard, aka Thor, is riding high these days due to his team’s current 9 game winning streak and major league best 11-1 record. When he wants to unwind however, he relaxes in the luxury apartment he just rented in Sky, a luxury rental building which has over 1000 units. The building, with 70,000 square foot of amenities, has been the residence of choice for other local athletes including AJ Ramos and several New York Knicks players.
The Author- Brian Silvestry , a licensed real estate broker, has been selling residential and commercial real estate since 1999. He has sold in every neighborhood from Battery Park City to Washington Heights.
29 Luxury contracts signed last week
Last week was another strong week of sales of Manhattan property listed at $4 million and above as 29 contracts were signed according to the Olshan report. The most expensive contracts were a couple of resales ,units 71A and 71B, at 432 Park avenue which were asking a combined $68.5 million, nearly $10 mm above their 2016 sold price.
This continues to show the dichotomy that is the Manhattan resale market. A recent report showed overall number of sales year over year is down but each week the $4 million and above apartments keep notching a steady amount of contracts. Interest rates rising, the recent tax reform and a very weak rental market are having a more pronounced effect on the lower end of the market than on the luxury sales. However, DOM continues to be at around 300 days for luxury and negotiation is the norm within the market of around 6% or so.
The Author- Brian Silvestry , a licensed real estate broker, has been selling residential and commercial real estate since 1999. He has sold in every neighborhood from Battery Park City to Washington Heights.
Sting rents a upper floor apartment in West Chelsea luxury building
The late Dame Zaha Hadid designed 520 West 28th street, is now home to Sting and his wife Trudy Styler. The Related building features a 75 foot sky-lit pool, spa, 24 hour juice bar and robotic parking. The West Chelsea building has 30 units and it appears that it is nearly sold out. Closings began mid 2017 with 6 apartments showing available on streeteasy from just over $5 million to $16 million. Two apartments are for rent- one for $15,750 and one for $26,000.
The Author- Brian Silvestry , a licensed real estate broker, has been selling residential and commercial real estate since 1999. He has sold in every neighborhood from Battery Park City to Washington Heights.