Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Barrons: The Manhatan Luxury Market is Rotting
I know, I know, you don't live in a cave. Fair enough, we all know how bad the real estate market is, but the Barron's article by Leslie P. Norton is interesting because we get some anecdotes and details from the front lines of the luxury tier of the condo/ rental business...you know, the luxury tier that we were told would be just fine.
In this particular economy, Barron's makes the case that the wealthy are harder hit than what anyone expected due to the collapses and layoffs on Wall Street as well as the general malaise in many of the important industries that affect New Yorkers, like fashion, real estate, marketing and advertising.
Some of the price cuts, like the one on the late socialite Brook Astor's penthouse are astounding, and they may only be the beginning!
PRICE CUTTING HAS BECOME SAVAGE. The 14-room Park Avenue apartment of the late socialite Brooke Astor -- which Barron's highlighted in that earlier story after its price had been cut from $46 million to $34 million -- is now down to $29 million and probably has to be cut further.
But even with dramatic reductions like that, the inventory of unsold luxury housing is ballooning. Streeteasy.com, a Website that pulls together listings and insights from a variety of brokers and buyers, now shows 795 New York apartments offered for $5 million or more, up from 518 a year ago.
The entire article is worth a read, if only to keep up with the latest on the most luxurious apartments in Manhattan and what they're going for and will go for in the near future.
Check it out: Manhattan On Sale (Barron's)
Labels: Barron's, High End NYC Condos, Manhattan Luxury Apartments, New York Real Estate
