Twenty-six contracts were signed last week at $4 million and above, the best first week of January in 3 years. The top 3 contracts were townhouses, the third of which—3 Riverside Drive--had an asking price slashed almost in half from $36 million to $18.5 million. Thanks to that one contract, the average negotiability for all properties (10%) skewed higher than it normally would have. (In 2016, for example, the average negotiability from the original asking price to the last asking price was 6% when a property went into contract.)

The No.1 contract was 269 West 11th Street, asking $30 million, raised from $26 million when it started on the market in September. This 5-story, 27-foot-wide house has 8,540 square feet, and was last purchased for $20,890,000 in August 2014. It has not been renovated, but is being sold with a set of plans designed by acclaimed architect Annabelle Selldorf and approved by the NYC Department of Buildings.

The No. 2 contract was 34 East 74th Street, asking $19.9 million, reduced from $26 million when it went on the market last April. The 5-story, 20-foot-wide house has 6,200 square feet including 5 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms, 2 powder rooms, 2 fireplaces, and an elevator. It also has a 700-foot-plus garden and 2 terraces. The house last sold for $13.65 million in October 2010.