Manhattan luxury apartments are still selling

New York

TWENTY-ONE contracts were signed for Manhattan apartments priced at US$4 million or more last week, even as the coronavirus outbreak cancelled public gatherings and had people out scouring for food and cleaning supplies, according to a weekly report from brokerage Olshan Realty Inc.

The number of deals topped the average of 19 for the first 11 weeks of the year, said Donna Olshan, president of the brokerage.

But buyers gravitated toward less-expensive properties.

The value of all luxury contracts totalled US$128.5 million, down 41 per cent from the deals signed a week earlier. Sellers discounted asking prices an average of 13 per cent from what they initially sought - though the reductions will likely be higher once the purchases close and their negotiated prices are recorded.

"A combination of low interest rates and falling prices seems to have outweighed the fear and volatility," Ms Olshan wrote in the report.

The only contract for more than US$10 million was for an Upper East Side duplex condo listed at US$14.5 million. That was less than the US$15.4 million the seller paid for the home in 2016, Ms Olshan said. The 4,300-square-foot apartment with five bedrooms was first listed for sale in June 2018 for US$16.9 million. BLOOMBERG