Sky High Sales: A Look at Trophy Property Sales in Manhattan vs. Los Angeles in 2011 by Ruth Shari January 10, 2012

A trophy listing went under contract in December in the Big Apple: the 20^th floor penthouse at 15 Central Park West owned by Sanford Weil, former chair of American Express.  The 6.744 square foot residence was listed at a startling $88 million, pricey even for the New York market where the previous highest sale was a $53 million townhouse that sold in 2006. Those close to the deal say the huge penthouse with a wraparound terrace was purchased for near list price by a Russian billionaire for his 22-year old daughter, who is a college student.

Brokers in Manhattan who work the very high-end say they’ve had strong business right through December and could sell more if there were a greater inventory of apartments. According to brokers and lawyers interviewed by The Wall Street Journal for an article published December 23, 2011, wealthy Russian buyers, who once sought second homes in London, are especially active in Manhattan at the moment, which is seen as safe, in contrast to the increasing political uncertainty in Russian. The Weil sale at $88 million equates to $13,048 a square foot, far in excess of the previous high in the same building at $9,940.

For the year ending 2011, seven sales were recorded for $30 million or more, according to city property records.  The highest closed sale was a $48 million purchase at the Plaza Hotel, bought by another Russian, a composer and music promoter.

In comparison, the highest published sale in the Los Angeles area closed for $85 million in July, 2011.  Originally listed at $150 million, the property, known at The Manor, was built by entertainment magnate Aaron Spelling and wife Candy.  With 14 bedrooms and 27 baths in more than 56,000 square feet, the Bel Air property allegedly was sold to a wealthy British man whose daughter will live in it.  For the whole of 2011, there was only one other sale in excess of $30,000:  A Hal Leavitt re-designed masterpiece purchased for $35 million, from a list price of $42 million, located at 1004 Hillcrest Road, north of Sunset in Beverly Hills.  (See photos of both Los Angeles area properties.) What brokers experienced for the past 12 months is sluggish sales of properties over $10 million with the exception of the Beverly Hills’ Leavitt house which closed within just 47 days last May.