Manhattan luxury buyers were on a tear last week, inking deals for 45 homes in the borough asking $4 million or more.
The asking prices of those signed contracts totaled roughly $450 million, the highest weekly volume since 2021, one of the luxury market’s hottest years on record, according to Olshan Realty’s report. Boosting that tally were 14 pending deals for trophy properties, meaning homes with price tags at $10 million or above.
The weekly report is just a snapshot of activity and doesn’t clearly point to sweeping conclusions about the market. However, taken on its face, it could be a sign of brewing momentum and that projected headwinds, such as the controversial pied-à-terre, may not be having as much of an impact as expected.
New York City began rolling out the tax earlier this summer, sending notices to homeowners that their properties could be subject to the levy. At the time, some in the industry predicted that the added costs, which in some cases have ranged from an extra $45,000 in annual property taxes to more than $180,000, could chill the luxury market, dissuading wealthy second home buyers from locking down any new properties.
However, the results of the weekly contract report, and others leading up to it, don’t appear to reflect those fears, though it’s unclear which, if any, of the latest luxury buyers are residents outside of New York City.
Whether the tax will dent the market also remains up in the air, as some of the uptick in contracts could have been spurred by owners offloading their secondary properties to avoid the tax.
The top contract inked last week was for a duplex penthouse on Central Park South owned by casino mogul, Steve Wynn, who, along with other owners, filed a lawsuit against New York State over the tax. But to say Wynn sold the property solely because of the tax is likely inaccurate, given he first listed in 2022, well before the tax’s passage.
If last week’s contract numbers do point to continued strength in the luxury market, that will also likely be buoyed by another banner year for Wall Street compensation. Earlier this week, Johnson Associates reported its third quarter projections, indicating that bonuses, to be issued in early 2027, are likely going to rise again, between 20 percent and 30 percent for some sectors. Wall Street bonuses and the strength of financial markets are closely tied to luxury housing markets in New York City and other destinations such as the Hamptons.
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Compass International Holdings on Thursday filed lawsuits against 15 multiple listing services across eight states over allegations that they violated antitrust laws. While the specifics of each case differ, the central arguments are similar, with Compass alleging that the MLSes are restricting competition by barring agents from marketing listings not uploaded to their platforms.
The move is Compass’ latest battle in a war against listing platforms such as Zillow and MLSes over where, when and to whom listings are marketed. Compass, led by CEO Robert Reffkin, has argued that only sellers should have the right to decide how to advertise their properties, a philosophy it claims serves as the basis of its three-phased marketing strategy, which first includes marketing listings as private exclusives within the Compass network.
NYC Deal of the Week
The priciest deal to land in city records this week was for a condo at 301 Park Avenue, which closed for $24.3 million. Unit 2803 is one of 372 apartments above the historic Waldorf Astoria hotel, which re-opened after a years-long renovation last year.
By mid-October, 80 deals had closed at the project so far, with condos selling for an average of $3,300 per square foot. Sales are headed by a Douglas Elliman Development Marketing team, led by Kai Wong, JP Forbes, and Jade Chan.
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Steve Wynn’s penthouse tops banner week for Manhattan’s lux market
Compass sues 15 MLSes over listing policies
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