The 6 Luxury Condo Buildings In New York With The Most Unsold Inventory
For the city’s pricey new residential development market, 2020 was shaping up as a challenging year before it became the epicenter of the worst pandemic in a century.
In the past few years, developers have rushed to build scores of glitzy new projects, flooding the market and spoiling buyers for choice. There are now more than 15,000 unsold condos in the city, according to data from real estate data analysis firm Marketproof.
Of that 15,000 more than 15% — or around 2,600 units — is in just six buildings, Marketproof CEO Kael Goodman said.
"From what we see, lenders are largely working with the building owners to give them time for the market to stabilize," Goodman said. "But I think we can fairly expect that some of the inventory will be repositioned."
The coronavirus, which has killed more than 20,000 New Yorkers and effectively closed the city for three months, is just the latest in a slew of challenges for the residential development market, Miller Samuel President Jonathan Miller said.
Last month, his figures suggested more than 2,000 new development units would become available for sale this year. He now expects that figure to be half that as sponsors push off launches. He said it could take almost nine years to chew through the unsold inventory on the market.
Amid that glut, here are the six condo buildings with the most inventory to sell, according to Marketproof:
Skyline Tower
Neighborhood: Long Island City
Developer: Risland, United Construction & Development Group and FSA Capital Total Units: 802
This soaring tower at 23-15 44th Drive was given the green light by the New York Attorney General’s office back in 2018, shooting for an eye-popping $1B sellout. At 67 stories, it is the tallest condo building in Queens and was almost fully built as of March, per New York Yimby.
There are still more than 500 units that remain unsold in the building, per Marketproof, and StreetEasy shows there have been at least 226 contract sales with an average price of $1.2M. A studio is on the market for just shy of $692K, according to the official marketing site for the project, while a three-bedroom is priced at $2.5M.
United Construction & Development Group's Chris Jiashu Xu paid Citigroup $143M for the site back in 2015 and scored a $502M construction loan from a consortium of banks led by JPMorgan Chase in 2018, according to a Wall Street Journal report at the time. Modern Spaces is marketing the project.
One Wall Street
Neighborhood: Financial District
Developer: Macklowe Cos.
Total Units: 566
Once set to be high-end rentals, the massive office-to-condo revamp at Harry Macklowe’s One Wall Street is due to bring hundreds of condominiums to the area, but it hasn't officially launched sales just yet.
Deutsche Bank loaned the developer $750M for construction on the project, and the building has locked down Life Time Fitness — to which the building's residents will automatically become members — and Whole Foods as commercial tenants so far. CORE is listed as the marketing agent on the project's website.
Construction on the building is expected to wrap up by the end of the year, and Macklowe Properties said in a news release in February 2019 that it had expected to launch sales last year. Robert A.M. Stern designed the conversion of the landmarked Art Deco tower originally designed by Ralph Walker.
One Manhattan Square
Neighborhood: Two Bridges
Developer: Extell Development
Total Units: 815
Extell Development has begun closings at this 815-unit building overlooking the Manhattan Bridge, but has made a splash with a slew of incentives ever since in order to get units off the shelf.
Last year, the developer announced it was waiving the common charges for a decade and introducing a rent-to-own scheme. In April, Extell said it would offer discounts as high as 20% for still-unsold units. There are still more than 500 units left to sell, per Marketproof.
The Gary Barnett-led firm locked down a $554M senior inventory loan and a $138M mezzanine loan from the Blackstone Group in August, which helped pay off a $750M construction loan, The Real Deal reported. RXR Realty is a mezzanine lender on the project.
Brooklyn Point
Neighborhood: Downtown Brooklyn
Developer: Extell Development
Total Units: 485
The Kohn Pedersen Fox-designed building at 138 Willoughby St. in Brooklyn is 720 feet tall, which is right now the borough’s tallest.
Closings at the building, which has a total of 485 units, are starting this year — but there remain more than 300 units still to be sold, per Marketproof. Like at One Manhattan Square, Extell has been offering incentives to lure in buyers, announcing it will pay carrying costs for those who buy one- to three-bedroom units late last year.
The developer scored a $425M senior construction loan from an M&T Bank-led group back in 2018 and a $105M mezzanine loan from RXR Realty. Both loans are reportedly due in 2022.
A spokesperson for Extell said that the company doesn't provide sales updates but is pleased with the success of both One Manhattan Square and Brooklyn Point.
"One Manhattan Square continues to welcome new residents, and Brooklyn Point will be commencing closings this summer," the spokesperson said.
Front & York
Neighborhood: DUMBO
Developer: CIM Group and LIVWRK
Total Units: 408
Due for completion next year, LIVWRK and CIM Group are building a 1.1M SF, Morris Adjmi-designed mixed-use building at the former Jehovah’s Witnesses-owned site at 85 Jay St. in DUMBO.
Once a parking lot, Front & York will feature condominiums, rentals, retail and 150K SF of amenities, including a rooftop pool, wine rooms and a coworking lounge. Of the 408 condo units, 400 are still unsold, per Marketproof.
A representative for the project said that it is the developers’ long-standing policy not to comment on sales data. There are some 17 sales listed on StreetEasy, with an average asking price of $1.8M.
"There are over 400 units at the development, but there are units in contract, so it's inaccurate to say that there are over 400 unsold units," a spokesperson said.
The Towers of the Waldorf Astoria
Neighborhood: Midtown Manhattan
Developer: Dajia Insurance Group
Total Units: 375
Known as The Towers of the Waldorf Astoria, this much-hyped condominium development officially launched sales in early March. A total of 375 condominiums are on offer, but none have closed as yet, according to Marketproof. A representative for the project said multiple units have sold but declined to give further details.
The residences are being built out of the top-level rooms of the iconic hotel, and current units on the market range between $1.7M and $18.5M, according to Dajia Insurance Group, the company formed to continue the development of Waldorf Astoria New York, formerly overseen by Anbang Insurance Group.
Anbang paid Hilton $1.95B for the hotel at 301 Park Ave. back in 2015, setting a record for a single-asset hotel purchase, then started its massive renovation. In 2018, the Chinese government took over the firm after its chairman, Wu Xiaohui, was charged with corruption and sentenced to 18 years in prison. Hilton will continue to operate the hotel portion when it reopens.
CORRECTION, JUNE 22, 5:45 P.M. ET: Closings at One Manhattan Square have begun. An earlier version of this story said they were expected later this year. This story has been updated.
CORRECTION, JUNE 23, 2:30 P.M. ET: Dajia Insurance Group is the company formed to continue the development of Waldorf Astoria New York. A previous version of this story referred to it as Dajia US. This story has been updated.
