A new condominium building in New York City has sold its first batch of units and has dozens available at a time when the Big Apple is in dire need of more housing.
The Perrie is a 20-story property with 95 one-bedroom units, five of which are penthouses. One unit sold for $1.19 million earlier this month, and at least 25 others are under contract, according to the property's Homes.com listing.
The building, which officially opened Thursday, accepts home buyers who are using a Federal Housing Administration, or FHA, loan to purchase a unit — a rarity in Midtown Manhattan.
Prices start at $875,000, but one of the penthouse units has been listed for $1.5 million. More than 70% of the residences are priced below $1.2 million.
Residents are also allowed short-term rentals so owners can make money off the space, developer Cape Advisors said.
The Perrie comes with a list of amenities that New York condo owners have come to expect — including a doorman, a fitness center, co-working spaces — and a communal fire pit.
Anyone who lives there will have "modern luxury and the rich, historic character of Turtle Bay," David Kronman, Cape Advisors president, said in a statement Thursday.
Turtle Bay began as farmland
Turtle Bay is known as a quiet, tucked-away neighborhood in the middle of Manhattan's busiest blocks — Midtown. Turtle Bay began as 40 acres of farmland that Dutch settlers owned in the 17th century, but now it's a short distance from Grand Central Station, Rockefeller Center, Broadway and UN headquarters.
Prewar townhouses in the Italian-Mediterranean and Georgian styles are a staple of Turtle Bay's housing stock. The neighborhood has studios in older, postwar condo buildings that list as low as $300,000 to $500,000 and one-bedrooms that range from $400,000 to $1.5 million.
Allowing FHA financing means a resident at The Perrie can score a home loan with a credit score as low as 580 and a down payment as low as 3.5%. FHA loans are typically a more attractive option for first-time home buyers.
Corcoran New Development is handling sales at The Perrie. Many of the building's residents used an FHA loan, and some of them work in banking and moved there because they wanted a quick walk to work, John Felicetti, a managing director at Corcoran, said in a statement Thursday.
"The block is peaceful, yet just down the street from the highly anticipated JPMorgan Chase headquarters at 270 Park Ave., opening this year," Felicetti said in the statement.
New York is experiencing intense housing demand as the city's population has grown in recent years, pushing up prices for brownstones, townhouses, condos and co-ops across the boroughs.
Home buyers purchased 463 condo units in Manhattan alone last month, up from 341 in April 2024, according to market data from brokerage Douglas Elliman. Most of those purchases were in the $1 million to $4 million range, the Elliman data indicated.