It was a good year for luxury residentials in New York. According to an end of year report by Olshan Realty, 2013 saw the best year for contracts signed since 2007 totaling in at nearly $10.9 billion sold. This represents a 70% increase over total sales contracts in 2012.
Development, particularly in the Manhattan area, also saw a sharp upturn this year. 38% of all luxury apartment sales were made on new developments that are not yet completed, and the total number of development contracts in Manhattan jumped 20% in the third quarter of 2013. The new Leonard series of developments proved to be in high demand among the wealthy tenants of New York City. 56 Leonard did particularly well, seeing 90% occupancy in 9 months at an average of $3,200 per square foot.
The Azure luxury residential in Manhattan co-developed by Carl Mattone and the DeMatteis Organizations continued its slow but steady climb to success. The Azure building announced earlier this year that it had reached 75% occupancy, and though the penthouse units remain unsold they underwent an extensive interior makeover by acclaimed design specialists Bjorn Bjornsson and James Rixner.
Though the year ended on a high note for luxury high rises, the inauguration of Bill de Blasio as mayor of New York City on Wednesday may prove problematic for 2014. de Blasio spent a portion of his ceremony speech condemning the economic disparity within NYC, particularly the rapid development of luxury condominiums under Bloomberg’s oversight. Though his current action plan shows no sign of actively opposing luxury development, he has plenty of time in 2014 to decide to do so.
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