NYC Luxury Market Watch: Week of February 9, 2026

Fewer contracts, bigger contracts. Between February 9 and 15, 2026, Manhattan signed 31 contracts above $4 million for $349,625,000 in luxury volume, five of them above $20 million. The top deal was $39,000,000 for a full floor at 1122 Madison Avenue, and the average contract came in at over $11.2 million, the highest weekly average of the winter. One of the week's five biggest deals was represented by Elevated.

The trend: the $20M to $50M band takes over

The contract count fell from 36 to 31 while the average price per contract rose from roughly $10.3 million to roughly $11.3 million. Two consecutive weeks like this made, in the report's words, the strongest performance in the $10 million and up market in nearly two years. Every one of the week's top five contracts cleared $22 million, which had not been true of any week since the New Year.

The report's reading of why is worth quoting in substance rather than paraphrase: this was not treated as a fundamental shift in the market, but as a reflection of constrained supply and the continued normalisation of higher price points. The $10 million to $20 million range now trades consistently, $20 million to $30 million transactions appear monthly, and $40 million to $50 million deals have become visible on a consistent basis. What remains genuinely scarce has moved up the ladder: the $50 million to $100 million tier is now the market's most limited segment.

New development supplied 12 of the 31 contracts, 38 percent, and inventory stopped climbing, holding flat at 5,313 available units in Manhattan after four straight weeks of increases. Supply had refilled from its January low and then stalled, which is exactly the condition under which prices at the top normalise upward rather than correct.

Top 5 deals of the week

1. 1122 Madison Avenue, 18th Floor

$39,000,000 · 5 BD, 5.5 BA, 5,251 SF

The week's top contract, a full floor of 5,251 square feet of interior and exterior space, one of only 26 homes in a Studio Sofield building moments from Central Park and the Metropolitan Museum. Roughly $7,430 per square foot.

2. 1122 Madison Avenue, 16th Floor

$36,500,000 · 5 BD, 5.5 BA, 5,251 SF

The same floor plate, the same square footage, two floors lower, and $2,500,000 less. That is roughly $476 per square foot for two floors of elevation, one of the cleanest measurements of vertical premium the data has offered all winter.

3. 125 Perry Street, THE

$35,000,000 · 4 BD, 5 BA, 7,023 SF

Represented by Elevated. A West Village townhouse of 7,023 square feet with an expansive private garden: an oversized living room and kitchen opening onto a 668 square foot garden by Harrison Green, a formal dining room framing the entry gallery, and a custom staircase by Leroy Street Studio. At roughly $4,980 per square foot it was the lowest rate in the top five and the most space by a wide margin.

4. 217 West 57th Street, 81E

$26,400,000 · 4 BD, 4.5 BA, 4,295 SF

The E line at Central Park Tower again, identical at 4,295 square feet to the residence that topped the January 26 report, one floor below it, and $300,000 cheaper. Two nearly identical trades two weeks apart is about as stable a comparable as this market produces.

5. 15 Central Park West, 27D

$22,800,000 · 4 BD, 4 BA, 3,173 SF

The smallest home in the top five at 3,173 square feet and the second most expensive per foot at roughly $7,190, ahead of both Central Park Tower and the West Village townhouse. Nearly twenty years on, this building still sets its own price.

The Elevated take

The two 1122 Madison contracts are the most valuable data point of the winter, and not because of their size. Same line, same 5,251 square feet, two floors apart, $2.5 million between them. Almost nothing in Manhattan gives you a controlled comparison that clean. Anyone valuing a high floor against a middle floor in a new Upper East Side building had, for one week, an actual answer rather than an argument.

Look at what the top five did not include: nothing below $22 million, and only one contract outside a small handful of buildings that had already appeared in these reports. The $20 million to $50 million band was not broad, it was deep in a few addresses. That is the practical meaning of constrained supply at the top, and it is why the report resisted calling this a fundamental shift. Five buildings transacting heavily is not the same as a market rising.

For sellers, the observation that real scarcity has moved up to the $50 million to $100 million tier cuts both ways. If your home sits in the $10 million to $20 million range, you are now in the part of the market that trades consistently, which means predictable buyers and predictable timelines, but also comparables that a buyer's broker can cite against you. Consistency is liquidity, and liquidity is priced.

Work with Elevated

Elevated advises buyers and sellers across Manhattan's luxury market, with $2B+ in lifetime closings including $500M+ sold off-market. Get in touch or reach Zeve Salman directly at 917-607-1331.