New York eclipses London in ultra-luxury residential sales

New York also took second place in trophy sales behind Hong Kong, with seven sales above $50 million, and seven of 24 penthouse sales. The top 10 trophy sales worldwide totaled $1.24 billion, down slightly from $1.32 billion in 2016. New York City's contribution to the list was the the $91 million purchase of the penthouse at 432 Park Avenue which was fifth most expensive sale globally. The No. 1 sale was a property in Hong Kong, called the Peak, which sold for a stratospheric $360 million.

In 2017, the wealth of the world's billionaires grew to $9.1 trillion, according to Forbes, with more than 2,200 billionaires worldwide. If you include those with $500 million or more, that number increases to $11.7 trillion, said Conn. This means there is an incredible amount of capital to be deployed, he added.

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One feature of the market in 2017, and continuing into 2018, is the degree to which it is a buyer's market, said Dan Conn, CEO of Christie's, particularly uber-luxury buyers. "They don't have to go the dance," he said. It's up to sellers to woo them.