The top two mortgages from 2011 were actually higher than the top two handed out in the pre-crisis period. However, the largest one, a $37.5 million mortgage filed for a penthouse at the Time Warner Center, was not secured for buying purposes. The apartment which occupies the entire 76th floor of the Time Warner Center was bought in 2003 for $42.25 million by Mexican-born financier David Martinez, according to the NY Times.

A $24 million mortgage used to finance the largest condo sale in Q1 2011, a $48 M buy at the Plaza,  was the second largest handed out in 2011. According to Miller Samuel, cited by the NY Times, this was the highest price on record paid for a single condo unit in New York City.

No big suprises can be noted when analyzing the top banks that handed out large residential mortgages, of $1 million and above. The top is dominated by financial behemoths JP Morgan Chase Bank, Bank of America, Citi Group and Wells Fargo Bank. The only notable difference is First Republic Bank outpacing HSBC on fifth position, the former a much smaller financial institution compared to the later.

Time Warner Center - Largest Mortgage Secured for a Condo Apartment in 2011

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With 938 transactions in April 2011, Manhattan sales volume saw a 19% drop from April 2010. Brooklyn, accounting for 445 sales, recorded a 5% decrease, and sales in  Queens (375) were down by 30% compared to the same month last year.  Compared to March 2011, Manhattan sales were down 4%, Brooklyn saw a 21% decrease and Queens recorded a 18% drop.

Compared to April 2010, the median sale price was up 2%  both in Manhattan and Queens and was up 9% in Brooklyn.

Click on the following link to browse current New York City apartments for sale.

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However that monthly increase almost disappeared in July. in July 2010 there were just 1.9% more transactions than July 2009. The number of closed apartment sales was just above the 1,000 mark. Not all the sales closed in July 2010 have been recorded yet, but we estimate less than 50 additional sales to be recorded in the coming weeks.

The median sale price however, was the highest in 16 months. Apartments in Manhattan closed at a median sale price value of $887,500 in July 2010, a 19.7% appreciation over the same month last year.

The highest price paid for an apartment in July 2010 was $25 million for a duplex at 115 Central Park West, owned by TV host Conan O’Brien, while the second most expensive was a penthouse at the Plaza that sold for $23.4 million to a casino developer, according to the Wall Street Journal.

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Based on the recorded sales thus far, the median sale price dropped 15% from $882,500 in January 2009 to $750,000 in January 2010. Despite the drop, the current median listing price for a Manhattan apartment lies at $990,000, 32% higher than the median closed sale price in January 2010.

View current apartments for sale in Manhattan.

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Properties reportedly owned by the London-based investment bank, Dawnay Day, came up in second place with a mortgage amount of $215,000,000. The bank made a big acquisition campaign in East Harlem back in 2007, as the Times Online reports in an article.

(Note: We defined distressed properties as properties which have a lis pendens filed against in 2009.)

	2225 Fifth Avenue, New York Mortgage Amount: $225,000,000 Lis Pendens Date: 2/3/2009 Mortgage Date: 12/21/2006 Note: Shares lien with 2171 Madison Avenue
	411 E 118 Street, New York Mortgage Amount: $215,000,000 Lis Pendens Date: 9/10/2009 Mortgage Date: 3/19/2007 Note: Shares lien with over 20 other properties.
	720 Fifth Avenue, New York Mortgage Amount: $165,000,000 Lis Pendens Date: 1/30/2009 Mortgage Date: 10/20/2006
	115 W 40 Street, New York Mortgage Amount: $160,000,000 Lis Pendens Date: 12/14/2009 Mortgage Date: 4/2/2007
	614 Lexington Avenue, New York Mortgage Amount: $145,000,000 Lis Pendens Date: 7/14/2009 Mortgage Date: 8/1/2007

View current properties in distress in our Manhattan foreclosure section.

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