“You’re dealing with this black hole,” said Jacky Teplitzky, a broker with Douglas Elliman Real Estate who guides buyers through the co-op approval process. “You’re waiting, you don’t know what’s happening, you don’t know what they’re looking at. They ask some questions. And then based on those questions, you’re in a guessing game: ‘Oh, maybe they’re concerned about this.’”
The result is diminished demand and a hit to potential value, Olshan said. The average price of luxury co-ops that found takers this year was $7.15 million, compared with $8.37 million for condos in a similar price range, according to her firm’s data on listings at $4 million and above.
It took Mnuchin two and a half years and several price cuts to sell his duplex co-op apartment at 740 Park Ave., one of the Manhattan’s most mythic and exclusive addresses. The five-bedroom unit was first listed in September 2018 for $32.5 million, and found a buyer last month after the asking price was reduced to $25.75 million.
“I study the market,” Olshan said. “And the market is certainly not rewarding the co-ops.”
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.