These Two Manhattan Penthouses Totally Skewed Record Price Averages For The First Quarter

The consensus seems to be that the Manhattan real estate market is back. Demand is high, inventory is low and the warm weather usually turns first quarter sparks into fires.

Ultraluxury apartment sales are what is driving new record highs, according to The New York Times.

This quarter saw a seven-year high and record average of $1,363 per square foot in the New York City borough, according to a report by the Douglas Elliman brokerage firm. The median price of a condominium jumped 13.4 percent during the first quarter from the same period last year, setting a record at $1,355,000.

"You won't have 18 percent price jumps every month - that's not sustainable," said Dottie Herman, the chief executive of Douglas Elliman. But the median price will rise, she projected. "I expect it to be caught up 100 percent by midyear," and then slightly surpass the height of the market in 2008, she told The New York Times.

Things are good and all signs point in a positive direction going forward but the numbers are slightly misleading. A shift in buyer interest toward larger, new units is pumping up the averages.

These two sales this first quarter are especially to blame.

The Penthouse atop Walker Tower in Chelsea

The Walker Tower was built in 1929 and served as an office building until it was converted to a residential building home to 47 luxury apartment condominiums, according to The New York Times.

In January, the glass-walled penthouse at the top of the tower with five bedrooms and five and a half baths sold for $50,912,500.

"The unit holds the distinction of being the most expensive home ever sold downtown, besting the $42 million penthouse that sold last year at 18 Gramercy Park South," according to Robin Finn at The New York Times.

The nearly 6,000 square-foot residence spans the entire 24th floor and offers views in every direction, some from a 479-square-foot terrace.

The buyer, who remained anonymous, was apparently enthusiastic about the property.

"I feel like I blinked and it sold," Vickey Barron of Douglas Elliman Real Estate, the sales agent for Walker Tower, handled the sale for the sponsors, said. "This was a man who knew what he wanted and had the money to pay for it."

The same could be said about the second property that pushed first quarter averages to record heights, only the buy did not remain anonymous.

The Triplex at One Madison

Then newly single media mogul Rupert Murdoch bought the three-story penthouse at the top of the 60-story building off Madison Square Park in early March, according to The New York Times.

Like the penthouse atop Walker Tower, Murdoch's 6,850-square-foot sponsor unit was the most expensive sale of its week, according to city records.

It also has five bedrooms, five and a half baths and terraces to the east and north.

As of the article by The New york Times, the space was still in "white box" form. Murdoch purchased the space unfinished so he could choose finishing touches, likely to accommodate his extensive art collection, according to Finn. Or perhaps he'll put those on the floor below the triplex.

Murdoch also reportedly purchased the entire 57th floor of the building. The three-bedroom downstairs unit was not closed in city records at the time of Finn's March 14 auricle because Murdoch is receiving the unit completed.

His broker, Dolly Lenz, told The New York Times it was the only space that suited all of his requirements at the time.

"I was brought along to satisfy a complicated and extensive wish list, but from everything we looked at, this apartment was the star. There was an instant attraction, and it was also important to Mr. Murdoch that there is a very credible developer behind the property," she said.