Luxury home contracts reach highest levels since shutdown

After a dismal six weeks, Manhattan’s luxury market is showing signs of movement. Six homes priced above $4 million went into contract in the borough last week, according to the latest market report from Olshan Realty. That was up from just one the week before. While the bump is likely to offer some comfort to brokers and developers, it’s too early to say whether a shift is afoot. “We need many more weeks of clarity to call any of this a trend,” said Donna Olshan, head of Olshan Realty and author of the report. “The virus controls the market. Until there’s a medical solution, that is the state we’re in.” The luxury market has been volatile for a long time, even before the pandemic, but the state’s shutdown on March 22 slowed contract signings to a trickle. Things got so dire that the last week of April saw the fewest since the Great Recession.