The first full week of 2026 marked a resurgence in luxury home purchases in Manhattan after a festive-season slowdown, led by the city’s top residential sale at the world’s skinniest skyscraper.
Overall, the first full week of the new year in the Big Apple saw 20 residential contracts at $4 million and above, according to the Olshan Luxury Market Report. That’s seven more compared to the previous shortened New Year’s week.
In total, the week’s asking sales price volume was valued at $147,338,000.
“We are looking at a seasonal uptick in the market, which is typical after the Christmas-New Year’s holidays,” Donna Olshan, president and real estate agent at Olshan Realty, tells Realtor.com®. “The problem now is that inventory is low—about 5% below what it was last year at this time.”
Olshan notes that many high-net-worth buyers are set to receive their bonuses soon, a factor that typically helps fuel the city’s luxury real estate market.
The No. 1 property under contract is located inside the iconic Steinway Tower at 111 West 57th St., also known as Billionaires Row, unit 36 came with an asking price of $18.25 million, down from the initial listing price of $21.25 million set in June 2016, according to the report.
The sale is currently listed as pending, so it is unclear whether the buyer paid the full asking price.
The listing was handled by Nikki Field, of Sotheby’s International Realty, whose team took over sales at the building more than a year ago on behalf of the developer.
“At 111 West 57th Street, we are now 98 percent sold with only two remaining residences, having achieved over $400 million in closed sales since Sotheby’s International Realty began exclusive representation at the building,” Field tells Realtor.com. “New York remains a global capital that ultra-high-net-worth buyers continue to secure for their real estate portfolios.”
Echoing Olshan, Fields adds that the top tier of Manhattan’s residential market has strengthened, driven by a lack of high-end inventory and sustained global demand.
“Luxury sales picked up meaningfully over the past months, underscoring that affluent buyers remain very active,” she says.
Designed by the renowned Studio Sofield, the condo offers three bedrooms and 3.5 bathrooms across 4,492 square feet of living space.
The unit’s focal point is its great room, featuring 14-foot ceilings and floor-to-ceiling windows with “unrivaled, perfectly centered” views of Central Park, according to the listing description.
Designed by the renowned Studio Sofield, the condo offers three bedrooms and 3.5 bathrooms across 4,492 square feet of living space.
The unit’s focal point is its great room, featuring 14-foot ceilings and floor-to-ceiling windows with “unrivaled, perfectly centered” views of Central Park, according to the listing description.
The luxuriously appointed master suite offers equally sweeping views of the NYC’s most celebrated green space. An adjacent dressing room leads into a bathroom clad in veined white onyx and anchored by a custom, freestanding polished-nickel bathtub, complete with top-of-the-line fixtures hand-cast by New York City’s last remaining foundry, P.E. Guerin.
The corner kitchen comes with a sizable breakfast area, custom cabinetry designed by Studio Sofield, crystallo white quartzite countertops and backsplash, and a full suite of Gaggenau appliances, including gas cooktop with fully vented hood, steam oven and wine fridge.
Amenities within the building include a full-service concierge, fitness center, 82-foot two-lane swimming pool with private cabanas, sauna and treatment rooms, residents’ lounge, terrace, private dining room, padel court and golf simulator.
Steinway Tower is a 91-story, 60-unit building renowned for being the world’s most slender skyscraper measuring just 60 feet in width at its narrowest point.
Rush Limbaugh’s former abode
Manhattan’s second-highest priced contract for the Jan. 5-11 week was penthouse No. 20 at 1049 Fifth Ave. that once belonged to the late conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh.
The property spanning the entire 20th floor of the building came with an asking price of $11. 6 million, reduced from $11.95 million when it first hit the market in May 2025. Robert Varvara, with Compass, has the listing for the unit.
The 4,661-square-foot penthouse has five bedroom, 5.5 bathrooms, a den, media room, and four terraces.
The property’s new owner will get to enjoy stunning views of Central Park and the reservoir from the penthouse’s living room, which also features a fireplace to keep the space cozy on cold nights.
The condo comes with a studio on the third floor and a storage bin, but the Olshan report notes that the penthouse is in need of a renovation, with the listing description characterizing the property as “a rare and remarkable canvas.”
The current seller purchased it from Limbaugh in 2010 for $11.75 million. The polarizing political commentator and long-time host of “The Rush Limbaugh Show” died in 2021 at age 70.
Olshan Realty’s president points out that the Steinway Tower and the Fifth Avenue condos share a key selling point: unobstructed views of Central Park.
“It’s the views that really help sell the apartments,” she stresses.
