DEVELOPERS TAKING ACTION WITH DEEP DISCOUNTS TO BOOST MANHATTAN MARKET

Sharp discounts have fueled Manhattan luxury housing market, according to the Olshan Report on Monday.

Last week marked the end of the report’s third quarter, during which transactions increased over the same period a year ago due to deeply discounted prices and developers selling lingering inventory.

Eighteen contracts were signed for homes priced at $4 million or more in the past week, according to the weekly roundup by Olshan Realty.

In total, buyers signed 233 contracts in the third quarter, an increase of 13% from a year ago, when 206 units went into contract, according to data Olshan culls from the Real Estate Board of New York and the state attorney general’s office.

The average home to go into contract in the third quarter was on the market for well over a year, 450 days to be exact.

"Properties, on average, reduced their asking prices by 8% off the original asking price before they went to contract, on par with last year," says Donna Olshan, president of the brokerage.

Manhattan’s third quarter ended on a bit of a high note despite the Yom Kippur holiday shortening work weeks. New contracts last week added up to $152 million, a 58% increase from the previous week.

The most expensive home to find a buyer last week was a four-bedroom spread on the 68th floor of skyscraper 432 Park Avenue, in midtown, asking $29.2 million. The seller bought the unit with panoramic views only two years ago, in September 2016, for $27.125 million.

The second most expensive unit to find a new owner was an Upper East Side triplex, asking $16.85 million. The home is in a building made up of seven townhouse-style units. This particular home has seven bedrooms, a garden spanning nearly 700 square feet and doorman service.