‘Cheap’ luxury living

NYC apt. prices dive in construction glut

Apartment sales prices are plunging as new luxury construction floods the market, a new report has found.

The median sales price for a New York apartment for the first quarter of 2018 was $1 million, down 1.3 percent from the first quarter of 2017. The average sales price was $2.02 million, down from $2.21 million, according to the report by Stribling & Associates. That’s an 8.3 percent drop from the same time last year.

The average sales price for a Manhattan apartment per square foot was also down 6 percent, from $1,585 during the first quarter of 2017 to $1,490 during the first quarter of 2018.

“Buyers currently have many options to choose from, especially when looking at properties priced above $3 million. More than one third of all inventory — 32 percent — is priced above $3 million. In many cases, developers are offering additional incentives to lure would-be buyers to their projects,” said Garrett Derderian, Stribling’s director of data and reporting.

Those incentives range from free parking spaces to paying state and city transfer taxes.

Some developments offer credits, like a $25,000 credit at One West End, a new Upper West Side luxury condo. The Beekman Residences offers a $10,000 gift card to use at the adjacent Beekman Hotel, Derderian said.

The Sterling Mason at 7 Laight St. is offering a free parking spot with its $15.5 million penthouse — a valuable perk in a city where some spots are as expensive as apartments.

Leonard Steinberg, president of Compass Real Estate, said a parking spot at nearby 443 Greenwich, the “it” building with celeb residents such as Justin Timberlake, recently sold for more than $1 million.

“This is the best buyers’ market ever,” Steinberg said. “Asking prices have come down remarkably, far more than during the economic crisis. People who buy now will be laughing in a few years.”

But even attractive incentives aren’t always enough.

“We are now seeing sellers reduce their resale listing prices, often more than once, to compete with the amount of product on the market,” Derderian said.

There have been 2,008 recorded sales this year to date, which is an 11 percent decrease from one year ago, when there were 2,264 sales during the same period.

Around 30 percent of all apartment sales in Manhattan took place downtown, which also was the most expensive market at $1,797 per square foot and the area with the largest number of listings.

Still, the Financial District and Battery Park City were the biggest losers. The median price plunged 20 percent to $1.2 million, and the average price sunk 19 percent to $1.47 million.

Upper West Side condos saw the biggest price appreciation for listings in contract, with the median price of $2.3 million up 40 percent, and the average price of $3.85 million up 33 percent.

But, Derderian said, “deals can be found throughout the city as sellers continue to adjust prices in order to meet the market.”