New York City real estate has taken a major beating in the course of the pandemic. Not only have landlords struggled to fill vacant apartments, but property owners have had a hard time finding buyers over the past year. In fact, the overwhelming majority of Manhattan homes that sold during the first quarter of 2021 closed at or below those properties’ respective list prices, which represents the highest level of sub-asking price deals since 2009.
But while Manhattan’s real estate market may be generally sluggish, one corner of it is starting to show signs of life — luxury homes.
A recent report from Olshan Realty reveals that there was a 60% increase in real estate contracts signed on luxury homes in Manhattan during the first quarter of 2021 as compared to the same time period in 2020. In fact, there were 41 contracts signed for homes priced at $4 million or higher during the week of March 15, bringing the year-to-date total to 343. During that same time period last year, only 215 similarly priced contracts were signed before Manhattan was largely shut down to cope with the exploding coronavirus outbreak.
