Only in New York’s insane real- estate market could the top 22 sales of 2013 each surpass $20 million and still be part of a down year.
After a robust 2012 — in which sales boomed as billionaires rushed to drop cash before a generous tax break expired in 2013 — this year there were no sales in the residential real-estate stratosphere.
“Manhattan didn’t come close to the breakthrough price records set in 2012,” said Jonathan Miller, a top real-estate appraiser.
While 2012’s top sale was Russian billionaire Ekaterina Rybolovlev’s $88 million purchase of a penthouse at 15 Central Park West, this year’s residential real-estate crown went to the unidentified buyer who dropped $43 million on 144 Duane St. in Tribeca.
The 23,000-square-foot, six-story limestone loft building includes a two-story glass-suspension staircase along with an elevator and an industrial-style chef’s kitchen.
There are also 2,775 square feet of roof and terrace space, a gym and a full-sized basketball court.
The buyer plans to transform it into a single-family mansion, sources tell The Post.
The second top sale came at 18 Gramercy Park South, where the penthouse went for $42 million to Leslie Alexander, the billionaire owner of the NBA’s Houston Rockets.
The 6,300-square-foot duplex comes with a pool, 2000 square feet of outdoor space over four terraces, not to mention a prized key to Gramercy Park.
The Ellen Biddle Shipman mansion at 21 Beekman Place near the United Nations ended up as this year’s No. 3 sale after selling for $34 million in June.
The mystery buyers not only picked up the 7,226-square-foot town house, they also kicked in $650,000 for the home’s furniture.
Fourth up is steel magnate Leroy Schecter’s $32 million purchase of the Rothschild Mansion at 41 E. 70th St.
Real-estate insiders say 2014 will see a new number of record-breaking closings based on contracts already signed this year.
Those deals include Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich’s signed contract to buy a $75 million co-op, which is a new record for a city co-op sale.
He and baby mama Dasha Zhukova want to transform the stately pad at 838 Fifth Ave., known as the Berwind Mansion, back into a single-family mansion.
This year has also seen some major price cuts.
For example, a triplex at The Pierre hotel, which had been on the market for $125 million, was slashed last week by a whopping $30 million.
Susan Soros Weber, the ex-wife of billionaire George Soros, slashed her $50 million pad at The Majestic, 115 Central Park West, to $39 million. She eventually took it off the market.