While brokers try everything from price cuts to publicity stunts to generate interest in their product, the market just ain’t buying some of what they have to sell.
A number of penthouses are lingering for months – and even years — before finding a buyer. Those that have been written about the media and plugged aggressively on social media and television by brokers with large followings don’t seem to be selling any quicker than their less-talked-about counterparts.
Take the penthouse at the “Sky Garage” building at 200 Eleventh Avenue, developed by Young Woo & Associates and Glauco Lolli-Ghetti. Despite boasting a contraption known as the “Sky Vault” that was plugged by Ryan Serhant on “Million Dollar Listing New York” and a system that allows residents to take their vehicles up to their floors, the pad has been on the market since September 2013. Despite a price chop to $20 million, it’s yet to find a buyer.
Which penthouses have lingered longest?
| Penthouse | Price | Listed | Discount from initial price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 40 East 80th Street | $3.499 million | 5/4/12n | -12.5%n |
| 11 N. Moore Street | $9.995 million | 10/17/13 | -26%n |
| 140 West 12th Street | $13.25 million | 12/14/13n | -4%n |
| 35 Wooster Street | $5.75 million | 2/18/14 | -9% |
| 432 Park Avenue | $76.5 million | 5/8/14 | 0%n |
| 12 East 13th Street | $19.5 million | 6/17/14 | -36% |
| 447 East 57th Street | $5.3 million | 6/19/14 | -23%n |
| 400 East 67th Street | $16.95 million | 7/14/14 | -19%n |
| 40 Broad Street | $4.99 million | 8/19/14 | 0% |
| 141 East 88th Street | $16 million | 9/8/14 | 0% |
The top unit at 40 East 80th Street, a 41-unit co-op, has languished on the market for over 1,450 days, according to data compiled by StreetEasy for The Real Deal. Currently asking $3.5 million, Penthouse B was first listed on May 14, 2012.
Here’s our roundup of other penthouses that have had long lives as listed properties.
Tommy Hilfiger’s Plaza Hotel penthouse
The fashion mogul’s 6,000-square-foot pad has been on and off the market since 2013, when it was first asking $80 million, or $13,333 per foot. Now listed for a humbler $68.95 million, the spread has four bedrooms and Central Park views. Hilfiger spent $25 million to buy three units in 2008, and then shelled out another $20 million to combine and renovate the space. Once listed by Dolly Lenz, the pad is now being marketed by the Corcoran Group’s Marie-Claire Gladstone, who recently told TRD that Hilfiger hadn’t been in a rush to sell – until now. “They said, ‘It’s a new year. Let’s sell it this year,’” she said.
Steven A. Cohen’s penthouse at One Beacon Court
Last year, the New York Post suggested that hedge funder Steven A. Cohen’s penthouse at One Beacon Court was “jinxed.” That’s up for debate, but the fact is the spread at 151 East 58th Street above Bloomberg headquarters hasn’t found a buyer since it first hit the market in 2013. The penthouse is now asking $72 million – a discount from the initial asking price of $110 million.
Cohen bought the 9,000-square-foot pad for $24 million in 2005. After it found no takers at $110 million, he chopped the price to $98 million, then $82 million and now $79 million – or $8,000 per foot. Douglas Elliman’s Richard Steinberg and Matthew Slosar have the listing.
11 North Moore
Sure, the Adjmi & Andreoli-designed penthouse at 11 North Moore has seen its share of interest from A-list buyers – actor Leonardo DiCaprio is among those who reportedly scoped it out. But the luxe Tribeca pad, developed by VE Equities, hasn’t found a buyer since hitting the market at $40 million in January 2014.
The apartment spans more than 7,000 square feet and has roughly 3,100 square feet of outdoor space (and a private outdoor pool). After lowering the price to $29.95 million last year, Douglas Elliman’s Fredrik Eklund, who is marketing the condo along with his colleague John Gomes, told the New York Daily News: “We made a decision to get real and sell it.”
Sky Garage penthouse
The “Sky Garage” condo project at 200 11th Street may be paparazzi-proof, with private parking spots on residents’ own floors. But the penthouse hasn’t found any takers and was pulled from the market in January.
The condo, one of 16 in the 19-story building, measures 3,598 square feet and has three bedrooms and 3.5 baths. With an en suite parking garage, it was last priced at $20 million after a major makeover by Dutch architecture firm MVRDV. Corcoran Group’s Carrie Chiang and Janet Wang had the listing.
Carlton penthouse at Battery Park City
This penthouse, a combination of three apartments, made headlines in 2014 when it hit the market for an astounding $118.5 million. But two of the three pads are still on the market, and the combined, 11,100-square-foot spread is asking $75 million. Dolly Lenz is marketing the property, whose asking price works out to more than $6,700 per foot. One of the two listed apartments has 7,500 square feet with five bedrooms and 5.5 baths; the other spans 3,600 square feet with three beds and 5 baths.
Footnote: City Spire penthouse
Long Island homebuilder Steven Klar tried for years to unload his octagonal penthouse at CitySpire – while adamantly clinging to a $100 million price tag. Located at 150 West 56th Street, the pad spans 8,000 square feet. It’s currently off the market, and Klar reportedly will use the apartment part-time unless he’s offered a “solid” deal.