Manhattan’s Luxury Market Reverses September Slump

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Manhattan’s luxury residential agents can breathe a sigh of relief — the borough’s contracts are on the rebound.

Buyers signed contracts for 21 homes in Manhattan asking $4 million or more last week, up from the previous period’s total of 11 inked deals, according to Olshan Realty’s weekly report.

The priciest home to land a signed contract had an asking price of $22.5 million, a marked improvement from the property asking $10 million that led the previous period.

The top contract went to a 3,200-square-foot condo at 70 Vestry Street. Unit 5B hit the market earlier this month, roughly two years after the sellers bought it for $16 million. The apartment has four bedrooms and four bathrooms and also features a corner great room with views of the Hudson River.

Amenities in the 46-unit building, developed by Related Companies, include a garage, fitness center, a lap pool and squash court.

Cortnee Glasser with Sotheby’s International had the listing.

The Tribeca building has snagged a number of notable buyers since sponsor sales launched in 2016, including film producer and director Jack Heller, who in 2018 paid $19 million for a 4,100-square-foot unit with a terrace.

A $55 million penthouse at 70 Vestry was also at the center of a contentious divorce between the CEO of the modeling agency Elite World Group, Julia Haart, and her estranged husband, Italian telecom mogul Silvio Scaglia. A judge sided with Haart, who also starred in the reality TV show “My Unorthodox Life,” in divorce proceedings, awarding her the apartment earlier this year.

The second most expensive home to enter contract was a townhouse at 80 Horatio Street, with an asking price of $9 million. The West Village home, which is currently configured as multiple rental apartments, hit the market earlier this month for the first time in roughly 50 years.

The buyer signed the pending deal after a bidding war, and the final sale price will likely be between $10 million and $11 million, sources told Olshan. The 25-foot-wide home spans five stories and 6,100 square feet.

Brown Harris Stevens’ Amy Herman and Kyle Cooper had the listing.

Of the 21 properties, 15 were condos, five were co-ops and one was a townhouse.

The homes’ combined asking price was $144 million, for an average price of $6.9 million and a median of $6 million. The typical home spent more than a year and a half on the market and was discounted 7 percent from the original listing price.