Kayak CEO picks up Walker Tower duplex for $24M

Condo was owned by a Property Markets Group exec

Steven Hafner and Walker Tower unit 18A
Steven Hafner and Walker Tower unit 18A

A Property Markets Group executive finally shed his duplex at Walker Tower by selling it to Kayak.com CEO Steven Hafner for $24 million.

Hafner is the buyer of an 18th-floor condominium unit, which was owned by Elliot Joseph, a principal at PMG, documents filed with the city’s Department of Finance on Tuesday show. The apartment was one of a few in the building that was owned by a developer of Walker Tower. PMG co-developed 212 East 18th Street with JDS Development Group. Along with Joseph, JDS CEO Michael Stern and PMG principal Kevin Maloney own units in the building.

PMG's Elliot Joseph

PMG’s Elliot Joseph

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Joseph said he initially planned to move into the duplex, but ultimately changed his mind. “I’m just a regular guy from Queens, and [the condo] doesn’t fit my lifestyle,” he said.

The PMG principal has been trying to sell this condo, 18A, for some time. He bought the duplex at the end of 2014 for $17.2 million, and then listed it for $34 million in August 2015, according to StreetEasy. The asking price fell to $30 million in September. He sold another condo in the building, 18C, in September for $10.4 million.

Last year Hafner, who co-founded the travel search engine Kayak in 2004, shelled out $9 million for a condo in South Beach. His new Walker Tower home spans 4,871 square feet and has two terraces that span a collective 689 square feet.