From left: Cornelia Eland and the interior of unit 1W at 998 Fifth Avenue

A unit at stately limestone co-op 998 Fifth Avenue has sold for $18.5 million, according to records filed today with the city. Unit #1W, which had been on the market for about 10 months, closed for $1.5 million less than the asking price — the Dec. 21 deal perhaps ushered along by tax concerns connected to the fiscal cliff. [more]

From left: 998 Fifth Avenue and 880 West 181st Street

The priciest Manhattan home to hit the market this week is a five-bedroom, five-and-a-half bathroom co-op unit at 998 Fifth Avenue on the Upper East Side, listed for $24 million. The 5,000-square-foot unit features 14-foot ceilings and windows overlooking the fountains of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The listing agents are Cornelia Zagat Eland and Emily Hanna of Stribling & Associates. The second priciest home to come online is a six-bedroom condo at 535 West End Avenue on the Upper West Side. The 6,637-square-foot unit is listed by Lisa Lippman and Scott Moore of Brown Harris Stevens for $19.9 million. … [more]

Inside the unit at 998 Fifth Avenue and agent Cornelia Zagat Eland of Stribling & Associates

The building that Guggenheims and Vanderbilts have called home is ready to welcome a new resident.

A roughly 5,000-square-foot co-op at 998 Fifth Avenue, designed by McKim, Mead & White, the architecture team behind the much-lauded original Pennsylvania Station, has hit the market for $24 million, even as a pricier unit there owned by private equity investor Steven Rattner languishes without a buyer, according to public records. … [more]

An 18-room co-op at 998 Fifth Avenue is on the market for $34 million. The fifth-floor, five-bedroom apartment belongs to former Morgan Stanley vice chairman Bruce Fiedorek, who was reportedly showing the apartment several months ago with a $45 million asking price, though it was not publicly listed at the time. Visiting prospective buyers were asked to sign confidentiality agreements at the time. The spot boasts 12-foot ceilings, two fireplaces, park views and a gym. An apartment on the fourth floor sold to billionaire Len Blavatnik for $27.5 million in January 2007, and Kathy Sloane of Brown Harris Stevens, who is representing Fiedorek, is also listing a duplex in the building for $25 million. [NYO]