Above is a view shot I took from a high floor unit at 520 Park Avenue. Completed in 2018, the Robert A.M. Stern-designed limestone tower quickly became one of Manhattan’s most prestigious addresses, joining the ranks of “Billionaires’ Row.” The 54-story building includes just 35 full-floor & duplex residences, with sales that have reached over $2 billion.

In this week’s edition:

Walking up Park Avenue on Friday, I passed the lobby of 425 Park and couldn’t help but stop. The massive Sol LeWitt wall drawing—Bars of Color within Squares—caught my attention, and not for the first time.

It’s one of those rare moments when art, architecture, and urban rhythm intersect.

This time, I stepped inside the lobby, took it in, and asked if I could snap a photo. Then I looked into it more: Installed in 2023, the 39-foot-high mural is classic LeWitt—geometric, vivid, and full of spatial play. It was commissioned by Foster + Partners in collaboration with L&L Holding Company and Paula Cooper Gallery, and realized by artists from the LeWitt estate, following the artist’s original specifications.

The building—set among Midtown icons like the Seagram Building and Lever House—leans into its art-meets-architecture identity. Inside the Diagrid Club, Yayoi Kusama’s Narcissus Garden—400 mirrored spheres—still shifts with every step. At the base, Jean-Georges’ Four Twenty Five includes a cocktail lounge anchored by a 24-foot Larry Poons painting. It stands out.

As I kept walking uptown along Madison Avenue, I started thinking about how much the Upper East Side has evolved. Not dramatically—but if you’ve lived here long enough, you feel it. You still see the old guard—St Ambroeus, Ralph Lauren, La Goulue—but now they’re flanked by Khaite, Toteme, and the brand new Armani restaurant, boutique, & luxury condos.

Even the art world has moved in. White Cube opened in late 2023, bringing a downtown edge to a traditionally buttoned-up stretch. And while a martini at Bemelmans will always be sacred, the neighborhood has a growing list of new favorites: Chez Fifi, the private club Maxime’s, and Casa Tua are drawing in a different crowd.

I ran into someone who’s lived here for decades. “The thing about the Upper East,” he said, “is that you actually see people of all ages—teenagers, the "hip" younger set, older couples, families. That doesn’t happen everywhere in the city.”

That mix is definitely here. And it’s part of what makes this neighborhood so quietly enduring.

(Sources: Financial Times, July 8, 2025; The Economist, July 9, 2025)

I came across two pieces this week—one in The Financial Times, the other in The Economist—that captured just how much the current tariff environment is shaping economic behavior, from construction costs to consumer demand.

According to The Financial Times, U.S. copper prices surged to an all-time high this week after a 50% tariff took effect—another sharp turn in the escalating trade tensions. The construction industry, which consumes nearly half of all copper, is particularly exposed. A single-family home typically uses around 439 pounds of copper across wiring, plumbing, roofing, and appliances. Prices are up 36% year-to-date, and while many hope this spike is temporary, the impact on building costs and supply chains could be significant if the trend holds.

The Economist adds broader context: many companies, anticipating tariff-related volatility, stockpiled inventory earlier this year. That buildup weighed on GDP in Q1 and is now being drawn down, forcing firms back into the import market—despite elevated costs. Customs duties last month were more than triple the recent average, leaving importers with few good choices: take a hit to margins or raise prices. Most have opted to shield customers, hoping the administration might pull back.

Inflation, meanwhile, is still hovering just above the Fed’s 2% target, but signs of deceleration are showing. According to the Atlanta Fed, private investment and consumption have slowed to an annualized 1%, down from 2–3% at the start of Q2.

Goldman Sachs has drawn parallels to previous “event-driven” slowdowns—temporary shocks that ripple across the economy.

The next round of tariffs, originally slated to take effect this week, has been delayed until August 1 to allow more time for negotiations.

The Fed is expected to remain on pause, waiting to assess how these trade dynamics play out in both pricing and broader economic data.

(Sources: Financial Times, July 8, 2025; The Economist, July 9, 2025)

Nations like Denmark, China, Indonesia, and Thailand prohibit foreign property ownership, but Saudi Arabia—already a major player in U.S. real estate—has just introduced a new law establishing designated zones where foreigners can buy property. The announcement sparked a sharp rally in Saudi real estate shares.

The move is part of a broader push to diversify the kingdom’s economy and attract international investment beyond oil.

These new zones are expected to include high-profile developments in Riyadh, Jeddah, & NEOM, the $500 billion mega-project on the Red Sea.

(NOTE: The Line is the most ambitious and high-profile component of NEOM. It’s a 105-mile linear city made up of two mirrored, vertical structures running parallel—each 500 meters tall (about 1,640 feet) and only 200 meters wide (about 656 feet). The idea is to house up to 9 million people in a zero-carbon, car-free environment where everything is accessible within a 5-minute walk or by ultra-high-speed transit.)

For now, details are limited, but investors are watching closely: opening the door to foreign buyers could reshape the region’s real estate market and signal a new phase in Saudi Arabia’s global economic positioning.

Ongoing volatility in political/economic conditions took some of the wind out of the sails of the spring real estate market, usually the most dynamic of the year. Uncertainty regarding the economy and possible implications for personal circumstances understandably made a proportion of buyers and sellers more hesitant about moving forward with one of the largest financial transactions of their lives. Still, while sales in most markets slowed year over year, the change was not profound and may readjust with new macroeconomic developments.

Note that virtually all of May's closed sales-the basis for most of the market data featured in this report-were negotiated before the May 12 reversal of China-tariff policies, which triggered an enormous recovery in the stock market, and significant rebound in consumer confidence (but which still remained very low by historical standards). The latest inflation reading remained subdued, but concerns continue regarding the possible impact of tariffs. Interest rates have been stable for the past 2 months, but in the absence of a meaningful decline did not provide the hoped for boost to buyer demand. The Fed once again left their benchmark rate unchanged.

Compared to 1 year ago, median sales prices for houses and condos/co-ops in May rose 1.3% and .7% respectively.

Active listings rose 6% from April and 20% year over year, and months-supply-of-inventory-a comparison of demand vs. supply-hit its highest reading in 6+ years.

Sales volume climbed 11.5% from April but was 4% lower than a year ago.

60% of sales went into contract within 1 month of coming on the market, and 28% sold above asking price. Cash purchases accounted for 27% of sales; price reductions hit a 6-year high; and over the past 3 months, 6% of contracts were cancelled before close of escrow and 13% saw delays in closing. The median time-on-market to offer acceptance was 27 days-faster than in April, but slower than the 24 days in May 2024. Distressed-property sales ticked up to a still very low 3%

"Economic uncertainty" soared in April, which affected the number of listings going into contract, which affected closed sales in May. Happily, the uncertainty index reading fell significantly in May and is expected to fall much further in the next reading coming out in early July.

The enormous decline in stock markets in March and April was followed by an enormous rebound in May, which along with the positive changes in economic uncertainty and consumer confidence, may show up in June sales activity.

After rising with the initial tariff shock, mortgage rates have been relatively stable in the last 2 months, running a little below 7%: Somewhat lower than last year at this time, but too high to significantly boost buyer demand this spring.

Median sales prices continued to rise in May. More often than not, they peak for the calendar year in June, due to both buyer demand and the typical increase of luxury home sales in spring. The chart below pertains to the median house sales price, but the median condo/co-op price also increased slightly year over year. Median sales prices can be affected by other factors besides changes in fair market value.

The number of active listings for sale increased both month over month and year over year, hitting its highest count in 5 years. On current trends, it will probably continue to rise in coming months. This is affecting the balance of power between buyers and sellers, though much depends on the specific listing.

The number of the sales in May increased from April, such as typically occurs, but affected by factors already discussed, it declined from May 2024. Again, May's sales mostly reflect market conditions in April when financial markets and consumer confidence crashed. Both have rebounded since.

Months-supply-of-inventory (MSI) is a measurement of buyer demand vs. the supply of homes available to purchase: The higher the reading, the softer the market. MSI for all homes hit its highest reading in over 6 years (first chart below). However, as illustrated in the second chart, the condo/co-op market has been running much weaker than the house market: Insurance and construction upgrade issues have hurt condo/co-op sales in many regions.

With the year-over-year number of listings soaring and the number of sales declining, price reductions reached their highest monthly count since 2019. Correct pricing, preparation and marketing are always important, but in softening markets, they become an imperative for sellers. Buyers should keep a close eye on properties undergoing price reductions: They can offer excellent opportunities to negotiate very good deals.

In the last 12-month period measured (through July 1, 2024), population gains were concentrated in urban areas, and mostly driven by immigration. The changes in immigration policies will almost certainly have a substantial impact on this dynamic. Anecdotally, it appears that the quantity of foreign homebuyers is plunging in 2025 due to political considerations, another factor affecting demand in certain markets.

As budget deficits are much in the news with new tax laws being considered, below are 2 charts on the issue. One concern is that rapidly increasing debt will affect investor appetite for U.S. bonds - Moody's downgraded U.S. debt in May - which could negatively impact interest rates. But there are many considerations at play in interest rates, making it challenging to predict changes.

In recent years, more affluent buyers have played a larger role in the market. They have been most positively affected by soaring stock markets and home price appreciation, and typically less affected by interest rates as they are more likely to be able to pay all cash. Other households, especially younger households, have been more likely to experience financial stress, particularly associated with rising debt exacerbated by higher interest rates.

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