Will Rogers famously advised anyone who would listen to “buy real estate – they ain’t makin’ any more.”
But people still lose money on real estate, as the New York Post recently pointed out.
Jennifer Gould Keil, who follows the real estate market for the Post, brought 2019 to a close by chronicling what she called “the biggest losers in New York real estate.”
As she points out, “buildings like One Beacon Court, One57 and Trump Park Avenue contained units that sold for millions of dollars below their initial asking prices in 2019.”
Among the Big Apple homes that sold for the greatest discounts, Keil said, were these:
* Trump Park Avenue (Percent off: 36). “A home inside Trump Park Avenue, at 502 Park Ave., is 2019’s biggest loser. A 19th-floor unit asking as much as $10.5 million closed for $6.72 million in June,” the Post noted. “That’s a 36 percent discount off the original asking price — and far less than the $9.41 million that it sold for in 2015, according to city property records. The three-bedroom, 3,211-square-foot pad at 59th Street and Park Avenue was last repped by Michael Balanevsky, David Florentin and Arthur Fruman, of Accent Holdings, LLC.”
* One Beacon Court (Percent off: 31.7). The building, located at 151 E. 58th St. near the old Le Cirque location and Bloomingdale’s, “is also turning out to be a stinker,” according to Keil. “There, a 46th-floor combination unit sold for $17 million in May — far from its most recent $24.9 million asking price. That’s a 31.7 percent discount. The Tony Ingrao-designed spread is 5,782 square feet and comes with four bedrooms. The listing broker was Corcoran’s Deborah Grubman.”
Actually, she added, the building “is no stranger to prominent discounts, as it’s home to hedge-funder and new Mets owner Steven Cohen’s long-suffering penthouse. In 2013, he put the home on the market for $115 million. The 9,000-square-foot behemoth is now asking $34 million, meaning a whopping $81 million (more than 70 percent!) off the original price.”
* 42 Crosby St. (Percent off: 23.6). According to Keil, the Soho penthouse “finally sold for $19.1 million after it first listed for $25 million. The unit, at 42 Crosby St., most recently asked $24.99 million in March, meaning it sold for a 23.6 percent discount. The 5,852-square-foot spread has four bedrooms and five bathrooms, and floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors with panoramic city views. The building was designed by respected modern architect Annabelle Selldorf.”
