Halstead Property

Diane M. Ramirez
President
dramirez@halstead.com
(212) 381-3203

Manhattan A Million-Dollar-Plus Market

Its

god to be a seller in Manhattan. Thanks to Wall Street bonuses,

historically low mortgage rates and the city’s enduring attractiveness

to local and international buyers, the average price of a Manhattan

apartment exceeded the $1 million mark last year.

"It was the strongest market we have ever seen." said Hall Willkie, president of Brown Harris Stevens.

According to Brown Harris Stevens’ fourth-quarter Manhattan market

report, the average price of an apartment in the borough rose 30

percent, to $1,052,155 last year, versus $810,457 a year earlier. The

median price, which is generally regarded as a more valid indicator of

a market’s strength, increased 38 percent, to $675,000 from $490,000.

Within the co-op market, four-bedroom and larger co-ops achieved the

greatest gains, soaring 48 percent in average price to $4,865,715 from

$3,283,864 a year earlier. Among condominiums, three-bedroom units

registered the largest increases, with the average price jumping 33

percent, to $2,684,513 last year from $2,022,383 in 2003’s fourth

quarter.

Despite last year's sustantial price increases Diane Ramirez, president of Halstead Property,

says the market cooled for several months as buyers waited to see how

much mortgage rates would rise and whether the increase would soften

prices. When buyers noticed that mortgage rates were edging up

slightly, they returned to the market — but resisted properties that

they deemed overpriced. As a result, after a year that saw the average

price of a Manhattan co-op jump 30 percent, she anticipates prices

edging up 10 percent in 2005. “We could not possibly keep up last

year’s momentum,” she says.

Nevertheless, members of a very small, rarefied lot of buyers are

evidently willing to pay whatever it takes to secure a Manhattan home

that is not only spacious and amenity-filled, but also boasts a prime

address. Media titan Rupert Murdoch reportedly went to contract last

year on Laurence Rockefeller’s former home — a $44 million,

9,000-square-foot penthouse with 20 rooms, including seven bedrooms and

111?2 bathrooms — at 834 Fifth Ave. At press time, a $70 million,

11,000-square-foot, 16-room triplex penthouse co-op with monthly

maintenance charges of $47,767 was still up for grabs at the super-tony

Pierre Hotel.

While the most expensive properties sold last year didn’t reach those

stratospheric sums, the figures were still notable. Here are a dozen of

the priciest residences that changed hands in 2004, based on

information compiled by Miller Samuel Real Estate Appraisers Inc. and

Prudential Douglas Elliman.

740

Park Ave. — a 15-room co-op assembled from three penthouse apartments,

with six bedrooms, six and a half bathrooms, a theater and several

terraces. Price: $28,000.000.

4 East 66 St. — a 12-room co-op with four bedrooms, four and a half

bathrooms, two maid’s rooms, a drawing room that opens on to a

library/media room, and Central Park views. Price: $25,000,000.

48-50 East 92nd St. — Woody Allen’s former home, a 13,500-square-foot, six-story, 25-room townhouse. Price: $24,500,000.

50 Central Park South — a 10-room penthouse condominium with three

bedrooms, six and a half bathrooms, maid’s rooms, a study and two

terraces, at the Ritz Carlton. Price: $20,800,000.

211 Central Park West — a 17-room duplex co-op that combines three

grand apartments at the legendary Beresford. Price: $20,000,000.

22 East 64th St. — a 25-foot-wide, five-story, limestone townhouse with

a full basement and a four-story extension in the rear. Price:

$17,625,000.

781 Fifth Ave. — a 17-room co-op, measuring about 6,000 square feet, in

The Sherry Netherland hotel, with six bedrooms, five baths, two maid’s

rooms, two large terraces and entirely updated mechanical systems.

Price: $16,500,000.

515 Park Ave. (shown above) — a 5,000-square-foot, 10-room duplex condo

with four bedrooms, five baths, one maid’s room and views of the

Manhattan skyline, Central Park, and George Washington and East River

bridges. Price: $16,100,000.

4 East 66th St. — former home of onetime presidential adviser Bernard

Baruch, a 16-room co-op measuring about 7,200 square feet, with six

bedrooms, seven bathrooms and four maid’s rooms. Price: $16,000,000.

80 Columbus Circle (Time Warner Center) — a 5,323-square-foot, 11-room

condo with six bedrooms, seven bathrooms and a view of Central Park.

Price: $15,347,000.

8 East 80th St. — former home of the late health club mogul Lucille

Roberts, a 20-foot-wide, 9,000-square-foot, five-story, two-family

townhouse with 14 rooms, including five bedrooms and five and a half

baths. Price: $14,750,000, the highest price ever paid for a

20-foot-wide townhouse.

101 Central Park West — a 12-room duplex co-op measuring about 5,500

square feet, with four bedrooms, four baths, a library and dining room.

Price: $14,700,000.

Monday, October 03, 2005