Condo prices have been absolutely shooting through the roof in 2012. Recent notable sales include a $88 million penthouse at 15 Central Park West and a $90 million penthouse at One57 in Midtown. Brokers and experts are now rather confident that these immense sales have signalled a new trend of eagerness and activity in the market. Soon, Manhattan residents can expect to see sales of luxury condos easily soar to new heights in the $90 million range. The luxury property owner can rejoice as the age of the $90 million apartments may soon arrive in full.

Reasons for this wave of optimism involve economic factors and, interestingly, personal factors as well. With much of the world currently in economic crisis, Manhattan real estate has quickly become a financial . With such an attractive market, brokers and owners can now proudly announce their prices; after all, much of pricing lies squarely in the subjective opinions of the seller. Non-quantifiable aspects of a building such as quality, views, and even atmosphere and layout can factor in heavily when a broker lists a price. having reached such an impressive peak, condo owners have gained much more freedom in terms of elevating the worth of their property based only on subjective information such as the quality of the views.

Naturally, exorbitantly priced Manhattan condos can’t be sold haphazardly, with only a limited supply of 15 to 20 “trophy properties” in Manhattan currently capable of generating such high prices. While there are clearly more foreign buyers willing to pay the prices of these condos, the fact remains that limits must and do exist on how much these buyers would be willing to pay. However, with a $50 million penthouse at Walker Tower in Chelsea and possible Park Avenue properties on the market in the future, ultra-expensive apartments may serve as the norm for a while.