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26 West 87th Street, #TH (Douglas Elliman); Billie Holiday (William P. Gottlieb - This image is available from the United States Library of Congress's Music Divisionunder the digital ID gottlieb.04251.This tag does not indicate the copyright status of the attached work. A normal copyright tag is still required. See Commons:Licensing., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=11181478) 26 West 87th Street, #TH (Douglas Elliman); Billie Holiday (William P. Gottlieb - This image is available from the United States Library of Congress's Music Divisionunder the digital ID gottlieb.04251.This tag does not indicate the copyright status of the attached work. A normal copyright tag is still required. See Commons:Licensing., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=11181478)
Typically as it gets closer to the holidays, the real estate market experiences a seasonal slowdown. But the third week of December 2024 was an especially robust one for luxury contracts, with extremely high-priced deals taking place at both preeminent cooperatives and new development condominiums alike. Indeed, only one contract out of the top ten asking prices from December 16-22, 2024 came in under eight figures.
The week's top contract took place at 820 Fifth Avenue. The third floor, which was listed for the first time in over 60 years, was asking $29,500,000. The home features grand proportions, private elevator entry, soaring ceilings, Parquet de Versailles floors, and a total of six wood-burning fireplaces, some of which feature marble mantles. Oversized windows look out on views of Central Park and the Manhattan skyline.

In this article:

1228 Madison Avenue
1228 Madison Avenue Carnegie Hill
Central Park Tower, 217 West 57th Street
Central Park Tower, 217 West 57th Street Midtown West
944 Fifth Avenue
944 Fifth Avenue Park/Fifth Ave. to 79th St.
26 West 87th Street
26 West 87th Street Central Park West
165 Charles Street
165 Charles Street West Village
It was closely trailed by Residence #14 at 944 Fifth Avenue, another prestigious prewar cooperative, which was asking $28,500,000. The listing notes that it, too, was on offer for the first time in more than 60 years. Neither buyer nor seller for this unit has been identified, but the contract was signed about five months after former Disney executive Michael Ovitz and his partner, fashion executive/designer Tamara Mellon, closed the sale of journalist Barbara Walters' apartment on the sixth floor of the building.
Park Avenue, Upper East Side
Fifth Avenue is home to some of New York's most luxurious and prestigious residential real estate, though Park Avenue gives it a run for its money. It, too, was home to two luxury contracts in prewar buildings last week. Penthouse C at The Ramondo, a corner cooperative designed by Emery Roth in partnership with McKim, Meade & White, had the week's sixth-highest contract with an asking price of $11,500,000. Further south at The Parkside, a palazzo-style condo conversion, Residence #11AB's asking price of $10,750,000 represents a 23% reduction, but was still high enough for the week's eighth-highest contract.
For all the elegance and history of prewar Upper East Side architecture, new development in this neighborhood is also in high demand. Residence #12 at the Robert A.M. Stern-designed 1228 Madison Avenue entered contract with an asking price of $10,950,000, the seventh-highest of the week. The listing notes that it has never been lived in, and public records show that if it sells for this price, its seller, manufacturing executive David Brule and his wife, philanthropist Thu Brule, will make a profit, having bought it for $9.5 million in December 2022.

1228 Madison Avenue is open for immediate occupancy; meanwhile, 200 East 75th Street is still under construction, but a total of $12,450,000 across two deals was signed there last week, shortly after New York Met Francisco Lindor signed a contract for a penthouse in the building. A few blocks north, a total of $21,060,000 was signed across three units at 255 East 77th Street, another new construction condominium.
The new West Chelsea skyline, including One High Line
While luxury buyers past and present flock to the Upper East Side, West Chelsea has emerged as a high-end destination. With an asking price of $11,750,000, Residence #17AW at The Cortland had the top Downtown contract and fourth-highest overall. A few blocks away, a total of $19,715,000 across three deals was recorded at One High Line. These included Residence #WEST18C, which was asking $10,025,000 in the ninth-highest price of the week. The contracts were signed hot on the heels of several high-priced penthouse closings in the two-towered complex, including the most expensive Downtown sale of 2024 to date.
Billie Holiday townhouse A photo of past resident Billie Holiday at 26 West 87th Street (Douglas Elliman)
Also of note, the week's top townhouse contract was for 26 West 87th Street, which was asking $11,700,000. Singer/activist Billie Holiday once lived in the Renaissance Revival-style house, which recently underwent an extensive gut renovation. It was listed for $13.995 million in September 2022, and the price has gradually decreased since then.
Williamsburg penthouse, Brooklyn condos One Williamsburg Wharf, #PHA (Naftali Group)
Waterfront condos, Williamsburg condos
NYC penthouses, private terraces
The top Brooklyn contract of the week also set a new record for its neighborhood: Penthouse A at One Williamsburg Wharf entered contract with an asking price of $7,200,000. If it sells for this price, it would be the most expensive sponsor sale in Williamsburg (h/t The Real Deal).

Penthouse A was among $15,025,000 across five contracts signed last week at One Williamsburg Wharf, which represents developer Naftali Group's first Brooklyn condo offering. The penthouse has a private roof terrace and a private balcony off the living room. All interiors feature high ceilings, oversized windows, kitchens with Calacatta Gold Quartz countertops and Miele appliances, and spa-like baths with radiant heated floors.

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165 Charles Street, #11 (Brown Harris Stevens Residential Sales LLC)

One High Line, #WEST18C (Corcoran Sunshine Marketing Group)

The Parkside, #11AB (Sothebys International Realty)

1228 Madison Avenue, #12 (Douglas Elliman Real Estate)

The Ramondo, #PHC (Sothebys International Realty)

26 West 87th Street, #TH (Douglas Elliman Real Estate)

The Cortland, #17AW (CORE Group Marketing LLC)

Central Park Tower, #60W (Corcoran Sunshine Marketing Group)

944 Fifth Avenue, #14 (Douglas Elliman Real Estate)

820 Fifth Avenue, #3FL (Brown Harris Stevens Residential Sales LLC)
Would you like to tour any of these properties?
Just complete the info below.
  1. Select which properties are of interest to you:

Or call us at (212) 755-5544
Would you like to tour any of these properties?