4 East 77th Street, #TH (Compass); Maurice Kanbar
For many New Yorkers, the penthouse will always represent the pinnacle of luxury living. But approximately 100 years since New York's wealthiest were lured away from their mansions and into apartments, some say the pendulum has swung back to single-family homes. The townhouse versus penthouse debate has raged among luxury buyers even before the pandemic, when it was thrown into especially sharp relief, and the top contracts from May 6-12, 2024 brought it no closer to being resolved.
The top apartment contracts were largely dominated by penthouse and full-floor apartments, with the full-floor Residence #86 at One57 leading with an asking price of $38,500,000. The apartment is reached via key-locked elevator and features high-end finishes and spectacular views throughout. Public records indicate that the unidentified seller bought it for $31,900,000 in July 2021.
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Just south of Billionaires' Row, the duplex penthouse at The Centrale was not far behind. Spanning 5,388 square feet across two floors, it houses grand entertaining rooms and a separate kitchen on the lower level; four of the five bedrooms, all of which have en suite baths, may be found on the upper level for optimal privacy. The asking price of $24,950,000 represents a 37.4% reduction from the $39.88 million listed in the offering plan, but was nevertheless good enough for the second-highest contract of the week.
The Centrale (Douglas Elliman)
But while it was a good week for penthouses, townhouses were not to be counted out -- they accounted for three of Manhattan's top ten contracts. Chief among them was 118 West 12th Street, a Greek Revival townhouse asking $18,995,000 in the week's top townhouse contract and third-highest overall. The most recent buyer was not identified, but it has counted the son of Roy Lichtenstein and a nephew of Jackson Pollock among previous owners (h/t Curbed).
On the Upper East Side, 4 East 77th Street had the second-highest townhouse contract and fifth-highest overall with an asking price of $17,995,000. The neo-Renaissance mansion currently houses the Michael Werner Gallery on the first two floors and has four market-rate apartments on top, but was constructed as a single-family residence at the end of the 19th century (h/t Daytonian in Manhattan). Decades later, following its conversion to a mixed-use property, art dealer Leo Castelli opened a gallery in his living room and exhibited the likes of Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, and Cy Twombly.
A few years after the gallery opened, Skyy Vodka/Quad Cinema founder Maurice Kanbar bought the building and lived in the fifth-floor apartment until his death in September 2022. His estate listed the house for $25 million in June 2023 but it went off the market at the end of last year, returning for the lower asking price at the end of March 2024. Nonetheless, organizations like the Kanbar Cardiac Care Center in San Francisco and the Kanbar Institute of Film & Television at New York University are in for a windfall -- a philanthropist as well as an entrepreneur, Mr. Kanbar bequeathed the proceeds of the sale to charitable causes.
A few years after the gallery opened, Skyy Vodka/Quad Cinema founder Maurice Kanbar bought the building and lived in the fifth-floor apartment until his death in September 2022. His estate listed the house for $25 million in June 2023 but it went off the market at the end of last year, returning for the lower asking price at the end of March 2024. Nonetheless, organizations like the Kanbar Cardiac Care Center in San Francisco and the Kanbar Institute of Film & Television at New York University are in for a windfall -- a philanthropist as well as an entrepreneur, Mr. Kanbar bequeathed the proceeds of the sale to charitable causes.
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#10. The Cortland, #17CW
Last Ask: $10,250,000
Chelsea | Condominium | 3 Bedrooms, 4 Baths | 2,430 ft2
The Cortland, #17CW (CORE Group Marketing LLC)
#9. 79 East 79th Street, #10
Last Ask: $10,995,000
Carnegie Hill | Cooperative | 4 Bedrooms, 3.5 Baths
79 East 79th Street, #10 (Corcoran Group)
#8. 25 Perry Street, #TH
Last Ask: $12,995,000 (-6.8%)
West Village | Townhouse | 5 Bedrooms, 4.5 Baths | 4,100 ft2
25 Perry Street, #TH (Compass)
#7. 200 Central Park South, #20DEF
Last Ask: $13,500,000
Midtown West | Cooperative | 3 Bedrooms, 5 Baths | 3,665 ft2
200 Central Park South, #20DEF (Compass)
#6. 73 Wooster Street, #PHA
Last Ask: $17,500,000 (-11.4%)
SoHo | Condominium | 4 Bedrooms, 3.5 Baths | 4,856 ft2
73 Wooster Street, #PHA (Compass)
#5. 4 East 77th Street, #TH
Last Ask: $17,995,000
Park/Fifth Ave. to 79th St. | Townhouse | 6+ Bedrooms, 6+ Baths | 11,395 ft2
4 East 77th Street, #TH (Compass)
#4. 920 Fifth Avenue, #5A
Last Ask: $18,000,000
Park/Fifth Ave. to 79th St. | Cooperative | 4 Bedrooms, 4.5 Baths
920 Fifth Avenue, #5A (Corcoran Group)
#3. 118 West 12th Street, #TH
Last Ask: $18,995,000
Greenwich Village | Townhouse | 5 Bedrooms, 4 Baths | 6,600 ft2
118 West 12th Street, #TH (Compass)
#2. The Centrale, #PH70
Last Ask: $24,950,000
Midtown East | Condominium | 5 Bedrooms, 5.5 Baths | 5,388 ft2
The Centrale, #PH70 (Douglas Elliman Real Estate)
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Or call us at (212) 755-5544
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