High Profile British Publication Slams NYC Luxury Market, Reports 27% Drop in Sales; Reality Widely Different

After being recently overthrown by Beijing as the billionaire capital of the world, New York City makes international headlines once more, this time being wrongly accused of failing to attract buyers for its trophy properties.

A recent article in the Financial Times — a leading international newspaper that specializes in business-centered and economic news — reported that interest for luxury NYC homes has dropped considerably in 2015. According to the publication, only 110 luxury sales ($10+ million) were recorded in 2015, down 27% from 2014.

The publication — that reaches 2.2 million international readers each day — reported that only 71 sales of properties priced between $10 and $20 million were closed in 2015, and only 39 properties priced over $20 million found buyers last year. So we set out to investigate, and see whether or not a worrisome trend is emerging in the luxury home market.

PropertyShark data shows that the pace at which wealthy buyers have been snapping New York City’s upscale properties – priced over $10 million – has indeed recorded a slowdown in 2015, but not an alarming one. While 2014 saw a total of 250 sales of $10 million or more, there were 223 transactions recorded for this segment in 2015, out of which 60 sales over $20 million (as opposed to 68 recorded in the year before). To sum up our findings: 

• In 2015, a total of 223 residential sales of $10+ million were recorded (more than double the no. reported by the Financial Times)
• Aggregate value of these sales surpasses $4 billion
• No. of sales for this segment are down 11% from 2014 (and not 27%)
• 60 residential properties have sold for over $20 million throughout 2015
• One57’s $91 million sale (of #75) was the biggest residential transaction recorded last year

It is worth noting that, when it comes to sales of over $10 million, an 11% decrease translates into a minimum of $270 million. In fact, in 2015, slightly over $4 billion have been spent on trophy homes priced north of $10 million, whereas in 2014 the amount was in excess of $4.6 billion.

Are you a real estate professional? We’d love to hear your thoughts on the matter; how do you see the luxury market performing?