Thirty-three contracts were signed last week at $4 million and above, an unexpected and remarkable performance. Consider this: It was the best third week of June since we started keeping track in 2006.
Stat Geek Alert #1: The 2nd quarter of 2018 rebounded nicely, with 346 contracts signed at $4 million and above compared to 348 in 2017. The dollar volume was $2,970,857,298, a 19% increase over the 2nd quarter in 2017. The upper end of the market has shown impressive resilience, and nothing has demonstrated this better than the No. 1 contract of the week--an Upper East Side townhouse with a $51 million asking price.
Stat Geek Alert #2: The average days on the market in the 2nd quarter was 395 compared to 409 days in 2017. Prices were reduced by an average of 8% off the original asking price before a property went into contract. In addition, 43% of all apartment contracts were sold by developers, up from 38% in 2016 and 2017. Developer discounts have been a major contributing factor in stimulating overall market activity.
Stat Geek Alert #3: For the second time in the last 3 weeks, no contracts were signed on the Upper West Side. Even so, the Upper West Side had its strongest 2nd quarter since 2015, with 60 contracts signed, mostly fueled by deals in new condos like 250 West 81st Street, Waterline Square on Riverside Boulevard, and 1 West End.
The No. 1 deal last week was a townhouse at 110 East 76th Street, asking $51 million. The house is 36-feet-wide, and has 15,000 square feet including 8 bedrooms, 10 bathrooms, 4 powder rooms, and an elevator. It was sold by developer Joseph Chetrit, who bought 6 brownstones from Lenox Hill Hospital in 2007 for $26 million and combined them into 3 homes. This particular house was the recent site of the Kips Bay Decorator Show House.
The No. 2 contract was PHA/1B at 1185 Park Avenue, asking $18.5 million. This 9-room co-op has 4 bedrooms, 4.5 bathrooms, a library, and a 1,700-square-foot, landscaped wraparound terrace. It was sold with a ground floor 6-room office.