Mortgages Are Now in Vogue for Manhattan’s Luxury Condo Buyers

For the world’s wealthiest, paying cash for a lavish Manhattan apartment was the ultimate status symbol. These days, even those buyers would rather get a mortgage.

Of all $5 million-plus home purchases in the borough, the share made with cash tumbled to 44% in the third quarter, according to appraiser Miller Samuel Inc. and brokerage Douglas Elliman Real Estate. That’s down from 80% a year earlier and the lowest rate since the firms began tracking the data in 2015.