One High Line, UES Townhouse Top Manhattan Market

Sponsor units dominated a solid week for signed deals in Manhattan’s luxury market last week.

The total signed contracts passed 20 for the first time in a month, according to Olshan Realty’s report covering Jan. 8 and 14. Sponsor units were responsible for half of those deals, possibly signaling a continuation of a trend seen in 2023, when 54 percent of all luxury condos were sponsor sales.

The most expensive unit to enter contract was PH26 at 500 West 18th Street, with an asking price of $49 million, down from $69 million in 2018 when the building started marketing. The five-bedroom, 6.5-bathroom home spans nearly 7,400 square feet and has a wraparound terrace totaling 4,800 square feet. The 2,100-square-foot great room and 864-square-foot dining room overlook the Hudson River.

The apartment is in the One High Line building, which initially launched as the XI before falling into a $1 billion-plus foreclosure. The new sponsor, Witkoff, took over construction and adjusted prices. Amenities in the building include a 75-foot lap pool, spa treatment rooms and private dining. The building’s contracts topped the Manhattan market five times last year.

Corcoran Sunshine is handling sales.

The second most expensive home to enter contract last week was 8 East 63rd Street, with an asking price of $28 million, down from $35 million in 2019.

The property has cycled through three brokerages. The 25-foot, 5-story brick house spans 9,400 square feet and is divided into two apartments and a dental office. It has an elevator, six fireplaces and three terraces. Annual real estate taxes are just over $180,000. Sotheby’s agent Louise Beit had the listing.

Of the 21 homes to enter contract last week, 17 were condos, three were co-ops and one was a townhouse.

The homes’ combined asking price was $208.2 million, which works out to an average asking price of $9.9 million and a median price just under $6 million. The typical home received a 12 percent discount and spent 845 days on the market.