Manhattan’s Lux Market Revs Up With 36 Inked Deals

Manhattan’s luxury contract activity hit another peak for the year last week, when buyers inked deals for 36 homes asking $4 million or more.

The total was the highest since the first week of June, which also logged 36 signed contracts for luxury properties, according to Olshan Realty’s latest report. The pending deals, which included contracts for eight trophy properties, were up from 28 in the previous period. 

A penthouse at Naftali Group’s 255 East 77th Street was the priciest home to find a buyer, with an asking price of $23.8 million. The full-floor unit, known as Penthouse D, has six bedrooms and six bathrooms spread across more than 5,500 square feet. It also features two terraces. 

Sales at the 62-unit project, designed by Robert A.M. Stern, launched in September 2024. Since then, all of them have sold or entered contract, save for a single remaining penthouse, asking $37.5 million. The 7,200-square-foot apartment has seven bedrooms and multiple terraces. 

A team with Compass Development Marketing, led by Alexa Lambert, Alison Black and Shelton Smith, heads sales at the project. 

The second most expensive property to land an inked deal was a condo at Pontiac Land Group’s 53 West 53rd Street, with an asking price of $21.5 million. Unit 59A spans 3,800 square feet and has three bedrooms and three full bathrooms. 

The apartment is one of 161 at the building rising above the Museum of Modern Art, which includes amenities such as a fitness center, lap pool, golf simulator and theater. 

It has drifted on and off the market since 2015, when the building first began marketing its 161 units. Six years later, as many of its units remained unsold, the developers dropped Corcoran Sunshine from the project and hired a team with Douglas Elliman Development Marketing. The decision came after the developers went to arbitration over a series of price cuts at the building. 

Elliman is still heading sales at the project, with a team led by Renee Micheli, Emily Sertic, Jade Chan and Luke Matheney. 

Of the 36 homes to enter contract, 19 were condos, 13 were co-ops and four were townhouses. 

The properties were priced at a combined $292 million, with an average of $8.1 million and a median of $6.1 million. The typical home spent more than a year on the market and was discounted by 5 percent.

Correction: A previous version of this article included Hines as a co-developer on 53 West 53rd Street.

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