By: Jeff Gorman

While economic uncertainty rattled much of the U.S. real estate market, New York City’s luxury sector sailed through 2025 largely unscathed — posting one of its strongest years on record, as NY Post reported.

Sales of Manhattan homes priced at $4 million and above reached nearly $12 billion this year, according to Olshan Realty’s year-end luxury report cited by the NY Post. The staggering total marked the second-highest annual dollar volume since the firm began tracking the market in 2006.

In all, affluent buyers signed 1,436 luxury contracts in 2025 — an 11% jump from the previous year — underscoring the resilience of high-end demand despite broader economic headwinds, as NY Post reported.

The strength of the market was especially evident at the very top. Trophy properties priced at $10 million or more accounted for 284 signed contracts, making 2025 the second-busiest year for ultra-luxury sales in nearly two decades, the NY Post reported. Only the frenzied, post-pandemic boom of 2021 — when roughly 400 trophy homes traded hands for almost $16 billion — surpassed this year’s performance.

Industry experts attributed the surge to a potent mix of Wall Street windfalls and softened pricing across the luxury landscape, which encouraged deal-making among cash-rich buyers, as NY Post reported. With stock market gains swelling portfolios, deep-pocketed New Yorkers were well positioned to capitalize.

Much of that capital flowed straight to Midtown’s famed Billionaires’ Row. West 57th Street emerged once again as ground zero for luxury living, claiming four of the 10 most expensive home sales in Manhattan this year, according to a PropertyShark roundup cited by the NY Post. The corridor’s glittering towers — many offering sweeping Central Park views — continue to attract the world’s wealthiest buyers.

Among the marquee deals was the year’s top sale: a full-floor residence at the late Robert A.M. Stern’s 220 Central Park South, which sold off-market in March. The buyer, an LLC reportedly tied to the Huizenga family — known for ownership of the Miami Dolphins and Blockbuster Video — paid a jaw-dropping $82.5 million, the NY Post reported.

The second-largest deal followed closely behind at Vlad Doronin’s Aman New York, formerly the Crown Building, where a condo closed for $66 million. Rounding out the top tier was a $60 million sale at 150 Charles St. in the West Village — a rare downtown entry among the year’s priciest transactions and a notable win for the luxury market south of Midtown, as NY Post reported.

Despite the dominance of condos, one single-family home managed to crack PropertyShark’s 2025 top-10 list. The Gilded Age mansion at 973 Fifth Ave., designed by famed architect Stanford White, sold for $46 million in May. Sitting directly across from Central Park, the historic residence was part of a broader resurgence in interest for Old World Manhattan mansions.

Taken together, the numbers paint a clear picture: while turbulence rattled much of the national housing market, Manhattan’s luxury sector thrived — buoyed by wealth, confidence, and a continued appetite for rare trophy properties.