Manhattan’s luxury residential market has a supply problem. Homes priced above $4 million – the threshold widely considered the entry point for true luxury – are moving quickly, and there isn’t much coming behind them. At the top end of the market, the real competition isn’t price – it’s awareness. Many of the best properties never reach public listing platforms at all.
That’s the current reality facing buyers who waited out 2025, according to Mukul “Micky” Lalchandani, founder and managing broker of Undivided, a boutique NYC brokerage that works exclusively with high-net-worth residential clients. As the spring market accelerates, he says the inventory picture is getting sharper – and not in buyers’ favor.
“In the $10 million range right now, it’s slim pickings,” Lalchandani says. “Whatever comes on the market, there are a lot of people jumping on it immediately. And it’s going to get more competitive as we move into spring.”
A Market Defined by Cash and Off-Market Access
The upper end of the NYC residential market is disproportionately cash-driven, and that dynamic compounds the inventory challenge. With fewer financing contingencies in play, deals move faster and with less friction – leaving buyers who aren’t already engaged with the right advisors on the outside looking in.
Lalchandani maintains active relationships with on-site sales teams at new developments to identify unlisted units, and tracks owner data to flag properties where sellers may be considering a move after the typical seven-year holding cycle. The result is a standing pipeline of off-market opportunities that only exist for clients already on his radar. “We treat seller behavior almost like a data pattern – ownership duration, building absorption timelines, and life-cycle changes tend to cluster predictably. When you track it long enough, you can anticipate inventory before it appears.”
“In this segment, buyers don’t lose properties during negotiation; they lose them before they ever know they existed. Preparation timing matters more than negotiation skill.”
What Buyers Are Prioritizing Post-COVID
The requirements that defined luxury before 2020 have shifted considerably. Lalchandani describes a consistent pattern among his current clientele: private outdoor space (terraces or rooftops), flexible floor plans that accommodate home offices, and – increasingly – full-floor privacy. Many of his high-end clients now specifically seek buildings where they are the only unit on their elevator landing.
Privacy itself has effectively become a luxury amenity and it directly affects liquidity. The properties that resell best are often the ones offering separation, discretion, and low unit counts.
The privacy expectations extend to the transaction itself. Lalchandani recalls representing the seller of a $17 million Central Park-facing property where the owner declined all media coverage. The sale generated no public footprint. That degree of discretion, he notes, is no longer the exception.
Value Buyers at Every Price Point
Perhaps the most misunderstood aspect of the luxury market is that buyers at this level are not indifferent to value. Lalchandani’s client base – tech founders, finance professionals, international investors – approach real estate the way they approach any significant capital allocation: with attention to the exit.
“You don’t buy based on personal taste,” he says. “You buy based on the marketability for a future buyer down the road. These clients want to park their money into an asset that will appreciate.”
At this level, the purchase decision resembles portfolio construction more than home shopping. The question is less ‘Do I like this apartment?’ and more ‘Will the next buyer want this apartment seven years from now?
That lens regularly leads Lalchandani to recommend neighborhoods outside his clients’ initial preferences. A tech founder couple from San Francisco who arrived intent on SoHo ended up in Gramercy – in a brand-new penthouse with private rooftop, pool, and full-time doorman, negotiated to $7 million from an $8 million ask. Four years later, the same unit is valued near $8.6 million.
The Window Is Narrowing
“I more often don’t recommend a property than I recommend one,” he says. “There are many properties in this market that look good and are not good investments. With experience, you can spot the difference.”
The NYC luxury market is no longer primarily a pricing competition – it’s an information competition. Buyers who rely only on public listings are operating with incomplete data.
Mukul “Micky” Lalchandani is the founder and managing broker of Undivided, a boutique NYC luxury residential brokerage specializing in modern condominiums and new construction above the $5M price point. Since 2022, Undivided has guided 130+ clients and secured over $5.7 million in buyer savings.
Disclosure: Individuals or companies mentioned may have a commercial relationship with KeyCrew.
