Luxury home sales in NYC are rising as sponsorship units make up half of deals

New York City’s luxury market remains robust as 2025 draws to a close.

Last week, 29 contracts of $4 million and more were signed in Manhattan, four more than the week before and just three fewer than this time last year.

While luxury sales peaked in 2021 with 164 signings with an average asking price of $8.4 million, the luxury market has recovered well from the post-COVID-19 lows of 2022-2023, with just 56 per year, according to Olshan Realty’s Nov. 17-23 luxury sales. report.

This time, sponsorship units accounted for 15 of the 29 sales.

A sponsor unit is owned by the original investor or developer and has not yet exchanged hands. It is generally considered a bonus to get your hands on a sponsorship unit as there may be a discount involved and there is much less wear and tear as it has not changed hands.

This is a huge plus for buyers of sponsored units, as they do not have to go through the often difficult approval process of a co-op’s board.

“If it’s built correctly it can be great,” Donna Olshanfounder of the agency of the same name, says about the new buildings. “But if there are some defects, the apartment management can spend years trying to resolve the issues with the developer.

“There are a lot of nuances when buying new construction,” she says Realtor.com®. For example, developers will often try to pass a seller’s typical closing costs on to the buyer.

“A good buyer’s agent will try to negotiate that,” she says.

New construction is popular across the country as most buyers prefer not to renovate, but Olshan says a buyer must be wise when dealing with builders.

“There are many other things to consider when purchasing new construction, and you need a good real estate agent to navigate and guide the buyer through issues that could go wrong,” she says. “Many developers invest millions in marketing, and a buyer needs to sift through the marketing and focus on what they are actually buying.”

She points out the problem 432 Park Avenue. on Billionaires Row as an example of what can go wrong with new construction.

Just a few years after the 102-story residential tower was completed, cracks began to appear – literally – in the building’s facade, according to the New York Times. Lawsuits are flying between developers, engineers, residents and contractors. (One of the developers has called the claims of poor construction “baseless.”)

As usual with Manhattan sales, condos outsold co-ops, 22 to 5, and there were only a few townhomes in the mix.

The top three of the past week

The most expensive contract of the week was a 2016 apartment at 220 Central Park South, Unit 32A, with a price tag of $39 million.

The four-bedroom, 4.5-bathroom unit in the architect-designed high-rise was put on the market in May Robert A. M. Stern is awash with amenities such as concierge service, doorman, motor court, private dining room, fitness center with a 25-foot saltwater pool, squash and basketball courts, golf simulator, game room, pet spa and more. The monthly common expenses are $15,000.

The second highest contract was for the penthouse at 823 Park Ave. on the Upper East Side, asking $26.95 million (down from the 2008 closing price of $30.5 million). A five-bedroom, 5.5-bathroom triplex, the penthouse in this small, 11-unit building features three terraces, a library, a gas fireplace, a home theater, and a den that opens to a 45-foot terrace with a hot tub.

This pre-war copy (1920) offers a completely different atmosphere than the modern bestseller and has a classic New York character. The monthly common expenses are more than $20,000.

The third highest closing also occurred on the Upper East Side: the duplex penthouse apartment at 201 E. 74thwhich was completed in 2023. This $25 million (asking price) sponsorship unit at “The 74” was designed by Pelli Clarke & Partners. The four-bedroom, five-bathroom duplex offers sweeping views of Central Park, a 27-by-20-foot living room with a fireplace and floor-to-ceiling windows.

You can view the cityscape from the 22-metre-high terrace, which spans the entire facade, and there is also a dining room, media room and guest bedroom. The top floor has another large terrace with its own aerie. The monthly common expenses are almost $11,000.