At NYC's tallest luxury-condo tower, discounts come in millions

Buyers at Manhattan's tallest ultra-luxury condo tower are getting discounts worth millions, a sign of the times in a market that's swamped with costly homes.

At 432 Park Ave, buyers who signed contracts and completed those purchases this year got price reductions averaging 10 percent, according to an analysis by appraiser Miller Samuel Inc. In one of the most recent big transactions to close, a penthouse on the 88th floor sold for $60.9 million, a 20 percent markdown from what developers initially sought, city property records made public on Dec 2 show.

As new high-end projects mushroom across the skyline, developers of ones that came to the market earlier are cutting deals to unload units before competition gets even more heated. Sales at 432 Park, a 426-meter tower on 57th Street off Park Avenue, started in 2012, when the building was just an idea on paper. Now, with construction finished, purchases are able to close and the developers are highlighting that, along with price cuts, as ways to seal a deal with buyers who have many choices.