Investing in high-end residential condominiums in Manhattan

Posted by Wei Min Tan on August 26, 2025

Investing in high-end residential condominiums in Manhattan is the focus of our business.  Yes, high-end condos is the most expensive category in terms of Manhattan real estate, but also the most stable, especially for global investors looking for long term capital preservation.  Let me explain.

Read about Wei Min’s style in Best Manhattan property agents and Role of a buyer’s broker.

Breakdown of residential apartments in Manhattan

The Manhattan apartment market where one can buy an individual apartment is only about 30 percent of the residential property inventory.  70 percent are rental or mixed used buildings where one needs to buy the entire building and cannot buy an individual apartment.  Within the 30 percent where you can buy an apartment, 20 percent of the apartments are Co-ops and only 10 percent are Condominiums.  As a percentage of the entire residential housing inventory, condos hence make up only 10 percent.

Luxury (high-end) vs non-luxury condos

Condos in Manhattan can be divided into luxury (high-end) and non-luxury.  The key differences are that high-end condos come with:

(i) high quality finishing and appliances (Subzero fridge, Viking stove, vertical hardwood floors, marble tiles)
(ii) high ceilings
(iii) full service amenities (concierge, nice lobby, fitness center, resident’s lounge, pool, roof deck…)

Within condos, high-end is probably 10 to 15 percent of all condominiums.  Hence, supply is very tight.

Read Weimin’s article, What it takes to be a top investment property agent in Manhattan

View from 111 W 57, which has the best location amongst the four Billionaire’s Row condos because it’s right in the middle of Central Park.

Pricing

On a price per sqft basis, high-end condos are around $2,000 to $3,500 (going all the way to $10,000) per sqft while regular condos around $1,200 to $1,800 per sqft.  A 2-bedroom high-end condo may cost $4 million to $7 million.  While a similar size regular condo may cost $1.5 million to $2.2 million.

High end 2-bedroom condo at 111 Murray. Represented client in buying and eventually renting out at premium rents.

Why are high-end condos a better investment?

The reason is high price gets high rents and vice versa.  Yes, you are paying more per sqft for a high-end condo, but the rental income will be a lot higher as well.  The rental yield, which removes all the noise from an analysis, is higher for a high-end condo vs a regular condo.  This is because rent per sqft is a lot higher for a high-end condo.  And with a regular condo, rents are lower and carrying costs are higher because they tend to be in older buildings with higher repair expenses.

From an appreciation perspective, my observation is that high-end condos appreciate better and rent faster.  There is more wow factor.  The limited supply of high-end condos also makes the economics favor high-ends for appreciation and speed of renting out.  For example, there may be only one condo building with a 75-foot pool in a certain neighborhood, while there are 20 regular condo buildings.

Read Weimin’s article, Is now a good time to invest in Manhattan, New York residential property?

Living room of client’s high end condo in Tribeca.

What We Do

We focus on global investors buying Manhattan condos for portfolio diversification and long term return-on-investment.
1) Identify the right buy based on objectives
2) Manage the buy process
3) Rent out the property
4) Manage tenants
5) Market the property at the eventual sale