Paul McCartney’s $15.5 Million Central Park View

 

June2015-1

A duplex penthouse at 1045 Fifth Avenue, a bronze-glass apartment building in a neighborhood where limestone and brick prewar co-ops are more the norm, sold to Paul McCartney and his wife, Nancy Shevell, for $15,500,000. The monthly carrying costs for the 10-room aerie, PH15, near 86th Street, are $12,935.00.

The former Beatle and his wife paid the full asking price for the apartment, which entered the market for the first time in February. A big selling point, undoubtedly, was the panoramic view across the Central Park reservoir, visible on each level from more than 800 square feet of wraparound balconies reached through glass sliders. But Mr. McCartney and Ms. Shevell will likely have their work cut out for them: Little has been done to the unit, which, according to the listing, has five bedrooms, five full baths and one half bath. The couple can use the apartment as a part-time residence — unlike many of the co-ops on Fifth and Park Avenues, this one permits pieds-à-terre.

Here is a look inside the multi-million dollar penthouse:

June2015-2

Downtown to See 1,350 New Condo Units by 2016

 The future of Manhattan’s condo market is Downtown.

Out of a total of 4,580 condos projected to hit the Manhattan market by 2016, nearly 30 percent will be located below 14th Street, according to a new report from the Marketing Directors.

May2015-map

At a breakfast briefing held at the W Downtown, the Marketing Directors said that in 2015, Downtown will see 22 new condo buildings with a total of 526 units. Two of the largest developments hitting the market this year are conversions, rather than ground-up construction, including Ben Shaoul’s 161-unit development at 100 Barclay, and the Chetrit Groups’s 49 Chambers Street, which will have 81 condos.

In 2016, the Marketing Directors projected 17 new condo buildings Downtown with a total of 823 units. In a twist, the location of the buildings will shift to the Lower East Side and East Village from Tribeca and the Financial District.

The Marketing Directors also said the scarcity and cost of land is impacting condo values. In prime Manhattan, standard land costs are roughly $900 to $1,000 per buildable square foot. That cost drops to between $500 and $800 per buildable square foot in second-tier areas, and $200 to $400 per buildable square foot in tertiary areas.

Andry Gerringer, the Marketing Directors’ managing director, said developers’ margins are being squeezed and as a result, many are “pushing the envelope” when it comes to sellout values. With developers hungry for buildable land, Gerringer predicted more condo development in East Harlem and Washington Heights.

Beyond Downtown, the Marketing Directors said Midtown East is projected to see 975 new homes, followed by the Upper East Side with 797, the Upper West Side with 745 and Midtown West with 700.

Adrienne Albert, founder of the Marketing Directors, noted there is “some slowing in the extremely high priced” condo market.

“Prices aren’t down, but absorption has slowed,” she said.

 

First Look Inside Battery Park City’s New Super-Sized Condos

In its former life as 22 River Terrace, the waterfront Battery Park City building on the corner of Warren Street was home to 324 rentals. But following a Centurion-led and CetraRuddy designed condo conversion, the building which now goes by the address of 212 Warren Street or, better yet, by the moniker River & Warren holds just 169 condos. With its drastically-reduced apartment count, the residences are large—the building’s smallest apartment still has two bedrooms and is over 1,000 square feet in size. The apartments, with bedroom counts as high as five, are priced between about $2 million and $10 million.

April2015-1

This 2,277-square-foot four-bedroom model unit is one of about 15 in the building that comes with outdoor space.

 Although the apartment’s only on the third floor—out of 28—it still has great views of the Hudson River and the parks surrounding the building.

April2015-2

This three-bedroom model is on the 21st floor.

It’s on the building’s southwest corner and overlooks New York Harbor, the Statue of Liberty, and Battery Park.

April2015-3

This two-bedroom model measures about 1,409 square feet and faces the Hudson River.

February Signs Record Setting 116 Contracts for $4M or More!

March2015-record

 

Last month was the coldest February in New York in 81 years. This, however, wasn’t the city’s only notable record. February also saw a record-setting amount of contracts signed for $4 million or more. In the last week of February, 30 contracts were signed at that price point, according to the latest Olshan Realty luxury report. This adds up to a total of 116 contracts for $4 million or more, a 23 percent increase since last year. The total sales volume was up 16 percent to $978 million, compared to February last year. January saw a total of 98 contracts signed for $4 million and above.

A penthouse at Rudin Management and Global Holdings’ Greenwich Lane at 160 West 12th Street for $33 million was last week’s biggest contract. The more than 5,000-square-foot triplex penthouse includes four bedrooms, four-and-a-half bathrooms and a total of more than 3,700 square feet of outdoor space. Greenwich Lane — which is comprised of five buildings and five townhouses and won’t be done for about a year — is 77 percent sold out, according to the report. Two multifamily townhouses at 55-57 West 88th Street for $22.5 million were the week’s second biggest contract. The townhouses, which include a total of 14,230 square feet and 12 free-market rental units, hit the market in 2013 for $26 million.

StreetEasy and Floored Partner to Introduce 3-D Floor Plans

Feb2015-3d-floor-plan

StreetEasy has partnered with Floored to offer potential buyers a 3D look at an apartment’s floor plan.

Floored, a Manhattan-based software company that creates 3D visualizations of offices and other space, will transform two-dimensional floor plans into three-dimensional models, according to the New York Post. The newest floor plan option is launching today.

“Floor plans are a huge part of residential listings,” StreetEasy’s Susan Daimler told the newspaper. The model will help shoppers fully understand how rooms flow into each other, she added.

Buyers can look at the 3-D models on computers or smartphones, according to the newspaper.