Success or Excess: What’s Behind Manhattan’s New Residential Sales Record?

Manhattan added a new superlative recently when the average price for a residence was reported to have hit $1.7 million, the highest ever. The milestone was hailed as proof the real estate market has bounced back from the 2008 recession, and indeed, the good times seem to have returned for some, including the real estate industry. But can anyone who doesn’t run a hedge fund still get in?

The Eight-Figure Apartment

A key reason for the gaudy numbers is that the higher end of the island’s real estate market is exploding. In yet another indicator that the richest of the rich have had the best recession recovery, sales of $10 million residences have doubled since 2009. (That’s adjusted for inflation, meaning that the 2009 numbers include anything that was over $9 million at the time.) 

Superior Ink

Nine apartments sold for the equivalent of $10 million or more in 2015 dollars here in 2009, the year the building opened.

 

15 Central Park West

The lavish condominium building at 15 Central Park West opened in 2009, and quickly filled with financial titans and celebrities like Alex Rodriguez.

 

One Madison

Ten $10 to $15 million apartments sold in this building, which languished unfinished for years after the 2008 bust.

 

One57

One57 is the undisputed center of Manhattan residential extravagance now. In the last year, a half-dozen apartments sold for $50 million, give or take a small Caribbean island.

 

Note: 2015 sales cover the period from July 2014 to June 2015

The New York Times|Source: New York City Department of Finance

 

 

 

 HUNDRED-MILLION-DOLLAR VIEW Central Park is the front yard of most of the city’s eight-figure residences. This view is from One57, where a penthouse recently sold for a record $100 million. 

 

RECESSION RECOVERY The owner of this residence, a two-bedroom apartment on the 33rd floor of the Ritz-Carlton at 50 Central Park South, paid $18.9 million in 2007, just before the recession. But don’t say “height of the market”: It is now for sale at $50 million. 

 COMEBACK One Madison was built in 2007 but foundered during the recession and remained unfinished for several years. Buyers, which have included Tom Brady and Rupert Murdoch, are now scooping up its eight-figure apartments, many at double their 2007 prices. 

Pockets of Affordability?

Of course, not every neighborhood in Manhattan has a million-dollar entry fee. The median price — what 50 percent of people paid less than — was just $910,000 over the last 12 months, and there are still places where the average residence sells for less than half a million. There are also some areas where prices declined. 

Going Upscale

But the “lower” end of the Manhattan market is shrinking. The proportion of the market that sells for less than $500,000 (again, after adjusting 2009 prices for inflation) dropped about 3 percent during the recovery. 

  

(via)