When we wrote our Columbus Circle 2 weeks ago, we said the 6,744 square foot apartment at 15 Central Park West that was being sold by former Citigroup chairman Sandy Weill for a record shattering $88 million had likely found a buyer. Today we can report that the owner of this gorgeous piece of New York real estate is Russian billionaire Dmitriy Rybolovlev, who has bought it for his daughter Ekaterina, at the full asking price. Ekaterina Rybolovleva is a legal resident of Monaco, currently studying at an undisclosed university in the United States. Her spokesman says she will use the apartment primarily as a pied-a-terre when traveling in New York. The deal has rocked the real estate world, clocking in as the largest private transaction in New York City history.

One of the most recognized rites of passage for adults in the Western world is financial independence. For some, that may come in the glorious form of the first paycheck or opening a bank account and setting up a direct deposit. For millions of Americans however, their first taste of financial independence will appear in the nightmares of their first student loan payment. According to recent reports, student loan debt in the United States is rapidly approaching $1 trillion, or greater than all other types of household debts. In regards to the , more college and university graduates are now either moving back home or putting down a security deposit instead of a down payment.

Out of all the areas of the Manhattan real estate market affected by the recession, the one hit hardest was new construction. How bad has it been? To put it bluntly, there hasn’t been any. Well, barely any. Now, the consequent shortage of high-end luxury condos in Manhattan is pushing up prices and frustrating buyers. There are - only 377 condos priced above $1,500 per square foot went on the market this year - and those apartments are more expensive than ever. Meanwhile, 540 units in Manhattan priced $4 million or more were sold this year, so inventory is still declining. It’s no surprise then that the average PPSQ for a luxury condo in Manhattan is $2,074 according to Jonathan Miller, chief executive of Miller Samuel Inc. That average is up 9% from last year, and .

Down in the far part of Midtown East, almost to the river, a new development site has gone on the market at 249-53 East 50th Street. The listing agent for this piece of property is Ariel Property Advisors, the investment property sales firm founded in 2002. It’s 44,000 square feet big with 55 feet of frontage between Second and Third Avenue, and while there are currently three four-story buildings already built, the property will be delivered vacant. The president of Ariel Property Advisors, Shimon Shkury, recommends building condos. He said luxury condos in this part of town are going for over $1,100 per square foot, and will continue to rise. And what is he asking for such a profitable piece of property? Nothing. There’s no price. Rather this land, which will one day be full of luxury condos for sale, is being sold for whatever you’ve got.

$88 Million. That’s the price at which Sandy Weill, the former president of Citibank, listed his luxury penthouse at 15 Central Park West last month. While such an astronomical price during the slowest sales season of the year might seem foolish, after a mere 3 weeks it looks like he’s found a buyer. This has raised more than a few eyebrows, especially since the previous sales record at 15 CPW was $10 million. This luxury condo building isn’t the only one in Columbus Circle - the small area on West 59th Street between Midtown West and the Upper West Side - that gives us reason to be hopeful. Just across the way, a penthouse at the Time Warner Center Condominium just sold for $6,335 PPSQ. And penthouses at the landmark One57, due to open in 2013, are currently listed at prices upwards of $90 million. Here at New Construction Manhattan, we’ve observed all of the ups and downs of the luxury sales market in Manhattan, but nothing gives us more reason to be hopeful than Columbus Circle.

Banking giant HSBC recently released new standards for foreign investors buying second homes in New York City. The new standards relax the minimum down payment required from 40% to 30% for luxury Manhattan condos in all buildings that meet a specified set of criteria. Said criteria are designed to maximize the overall stability of the building. They require, among other things, that a building already be 90% full. Meanwhile down payment figures for American buyers have not changed. They range from 20% to 40% depending on the size of the loan. Loans below $2 million allow for just 20% down payments, while loans of $5 million require 40% up front.

With a distinctive brown-brick and glass facade, the 57-story high-rise condominium  Sheffield57at West 57th Street and 8th Avenue seems to fit right in in the up-and-coming Clinton neighborhood. But this recent development has a quirky portfolio, and until being foreclosed in late 2009, was steadily heading downhill. The desperate behavior of the building's developers reflected the frustration of a bad market coupled with poor managment, as developer Ken Swigs hired a marching band with trumpets and tubas to drown out the the sound of renters protesting eviction. Later his partner would make headlines (and a court appearance) for throwing a metal ice bucket at him. But under new management, and with a new name, The Sheffield has drastically resurrected sales, which seemed at one time unthinkable.

In theory, newly constructed luxury condos in Manhattan have it all. Fitness-centers, roof-decks, yoga-studios, bowling alleys, pet spas; they really might as well be cruise ships. In reality, residents aren’t impressed. In many buildings these luxurious features just haven’t taken, and most of the time these rooms are more or less empty. Developers have been taken aback by the fact that providing in their luxury condos, and hence a new kind of lifestyle, isn't enough. So in response to this predicament, building managers are stepping up their game and hiring professional instructors, organizers, and “lifestyle managers” to provide programming for residents. Early results are encouraing: people are finally coming out of their apartments in order to participate in organized events.

The rap on Tribeca has always been that while the whole triangle is a cultural hotspot, it’s the southern part below North Moore where the celebrities and high-end Manhattan condos are. The northern part is grittier and more bohemian, and until recently, more dangerous. But just over the past few years Developers are converting the old, gritty looking buildings for which Northern Tribeca is infamous into luxury condos. And they’re doing it so extensively that prices in Northern Tribeca are higher now than they are down south. The Wall Street Journal found that the median price for a high-end condo in the north is $3.3 million, compared to $2.8 million in the south. So while northern Tribeca still has the look and feel of a Bohemian neighborhood, its residents are actually living in converted condos as nice as any luxury condo for sale in the Financial District or SoHo.