A deal for a 53rd-floor unit at JDS Development’s 111 West 57th Street condo topped last week’s list of Manhattan luxury contracts.
The Billionaires’ Row buyers are a married pair of real estate developers who already own a pied-à-terre in New York City and wanted to upgrade, according to the latest market report from Olshan Realty.
The couple flew into New York from Aspen and toured properties for two days, said Sotheby’s International Realty broker Benjamin Pofcher, who represented the couple with Nikki Field. The 4,183-square-foot condo, last asking $26.5 million, has three bedrooms, three and a half bathrooms and views of Central Park.
“They sensed the timing was right to get a deal and they got one,” Pofcher told Olshan.
The contract was one of 16 signed last week for Manhattan properties asking above $4 million, a drop from 27 the week prior.
“I just feel that this is going to be a spotty market,” Olshan said. “You’re going to have some good weeks, you’re going to have some bad weeks, you’re going to have some mediocre weeks — and we will not have a trend line until we can get past this [pandemic].”
Of the 16 deals last week, seven were for properties asking more than $10 million, the report said — the most in that price bracket since the first week of March.
“I think that is underscoring the fact that the very rich have gotten much richer during this pandemic period,” Olshan said. “All the economic data bears that point out.”
The second-priciest deal last week was unit 27 at 50 Central Park South, which was asking $24.5 million — down from $39.5 million when it was listed about two years ago.
The 6,829-square-foot, full-floor unit is owned by film producer Sidney Kimmel, who made his fortune in apparel. It features two bedrooms and three terraces.
“Most people felt they would gut the entire apartment,” said Douglas Elliman broker Steve Cohen, who represented the seller. “I think we had the right buyer and I communicated with enough brokers to know there was a deal to be had here.”
Kimmel, a 93-year-old billionaire whose movies include “Crazy Rich Asians” and “Moneyball,” and his wife Caroline, bought the home for about $29 million in 2001, she told the Wall Street Journal two years ago.