Buyers still lapping up luxury and calling NYC home.

Big spenders have given the super-luxury market in New York City a scorching start to the year.

From a $45 million contract inked at the majestic 15 Central Park West, to a $25 million loft sale on Prince Street, the city's elite brokers who cater to the rich and powerful are reporting a surge in luxury sales that is being attributed to the Big Apple's allure.

"There's a lot of money out there and the people with it want to call New York home," said Toni Haber, Prudential Douglas Elliman's newly appointed senior vice president.

"People are taking a little bit longer to decide, but definitely, the higher priced homes are selling."

Indeed, according to the most recent figures from Stribling & Associates, after cooling off from the dramatic peak of 2004, the real estate market for luxury residential properties again surged ahead at the end of 2005, just as it has for the past three years.

The surge began in December and has continued into February 2006, with the market showing itself stronger than it was in the third and fourth quarters, according to Kirk Henckels, executive vice president and director of private brokerage at Stribling & Associates.

"Surprisingly, the luxury real estate market managed to add yet another record breaking year to its upward and seemingly unending spiral, fueled by continued relatively low interest rates, a good economy and major Wall Street bonuses ... despite devastating hurricanes and dramatically higher fuel costs," Henckels said.

"However, the pleasant surprise has been the surge in activity of the $20 million+ market, which is not dependent upon salary or bonuses."

Joseph Klaynberg, principal of MoeJoe Developers, LLC, says the city's luxury developers are having no problems selling their product.

"You have to give the buyers a very good product with very high-end finishes," he said. "When they buy, they don't want to spend another $3 million changing things. But the right development, in the right location, with good product marketing is keeping the sales going."

MoeJoe has just completed the 42-unit Chelsea Club at 444 W 19th Street where two-bedroom units were going in the $1,100 psf range. The building sold out last April.

Added Klaynberg, "I don't see any decline in people looking to purchase super luxury product and I think the demand will be maintained, along with demand for the small, affordable one-bedroom units."

The developer believes that the tactic of bringing in big-name designers has helped raise the bar when it comes to luxury homes. MoeJoe collaborated with Andres Escobar on the Chelsea Club and, says Klaynberg, the result was a sell-out.

According to the Stribling report, the lack of "trophy" quality inventory since last spring's peak in the market resulted in fewer high end sales in the third and fourth quarters. Due to new trophy inventory at the end of 2005, there have been at least five cooperative deals with asking prices at or above $20 million.

Three contracts were signed since mid-December 2005 on trophy townhouses with prices ranging from $20 million to $40 million. These three deals plus the two previously signed $20 million+ townhouses show that there will be five townhouses sales over $20 million in 2006, already tying those in 2005.

The total sales of $5 million or more cooperatives came close to the $1 billion mark, increasing 19.8% to the $980,426,421 in 2005 from $818,594,000 in 2004.

There were a total of 31 cooperative sales over $10 million in 2005 compared to only 24 comparative sales in 2004.

The $25 million sale of a 9,800 s/f loft on Prince Street, demonstrates the growing parody in prices of trophy properties uptown and downtown, according to Stribling.

Of the 13 cooperatives priced over $10 million and signed by the end of January 2006, four were over $20 million, one of which was over $30 million, compared to the 16 signed by the end of January 2005, which also had four over $20 million.

The volume of townhouse sales increased to 21.7% in 2005, totaling $775,648,596, from $637,106,889 in 2004. Residential townhome sales over $10 million increased to 22 in 2005 from 16 in 2004. A total of 35.6% of all townhouses sold for over $5 million in 2005 were downtown, which equals the number of sales made in the East 60's, 70's and 80's combined.

Condominiums also had a strong sales year in 2005, with a condominium trend of partial or total conversion of hotels continuing.

The Plaza and 15 Central Park West are both selling quickly with one contract at 15 Central Park West signed $4,200 per square foot.

The 165 Charles penthouse and two adjacent floors, facing the Hudson, sold for $35.1 million to a buyer from uptown. Downtown's highest townhouse sale totaled $11.27 million for a 12,000 square foot, 44 foot wide house on Bank Street, at just below $1,000 per square foot.

"The depth and breadth of this rally is uncertain, as it always is," said Henckels.

"There is a lot of cash in the market, an improved level of inventory so people have something to choose from, and a reasonably healthy economy. Given this scenario, the overall luxury real estate market should continue to follow the economy with modest, if any, price increases, except at the very top of the market where prices seem to be increasing rapidly."