As the luxury market slump drags on, Ceruzzi Properties is listing a new penthouse asking a steep $39.9 million.
The duplex penthouse is at the under-construction Centrale on 138 East 50th Street, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The pricey listing comes as high-end properties have been lingering on the market and taking price cuts. In the first quarter this year, Manhattan’s luxury segment had 24 percent less sales volume compared with a year earlier, according to Douglas Elliman. The median sales price slid 15 percent to $5.9 million. Among new development properties, sales volume tumbled 39.4 percent.
Plus, the developer will be hard-pressed to find a sale that pricey east of Lexington Avenue, according to the Journal.
Anna Zarro, sales executive at Ceruzzi, said the home was moderately priced when compared to listings from a few years ago. At the peak of the market in 2015, a First Avenue condo sold for $37.94 million.
The developer held off on listing the home until the building was nearly complete, Zarro said. The timing was designed to attract buyers looking to move quickly.
Douglas Elliman Development Marketing is heading sales.
The penthouse spans just under 5,400 square feet with access via a private elevator. It has five bedrooms, a library with a fireplace and a chef’s kitchen. Penthouse residents also have access to a private parking space in the building’s garage. The 124-unit building was designed by Pelli Clarke Pelli, and prices start at $1.825 million for a one bedroom home.
The company’s principal Lou Ceruzzi died suddenly in 2017 and a small group of executives at the firm have scrambled to complete a trio of luxury condos and keep lenders happy.
The Real Deal reported late last year that Ceruzzi Properties was looking to bring Bob Gladstone’s Madison Equities as a partner at the $500 million 520 Fifth Avenue, its most ambitious project yet. [WSJ] — Meenal Vamburkar