Japanese billionaire Bungo Shimada is trying to sell his Upper East Side manse again — and he’s actually raising the price to $45 million.
The 14,000-square-foot townhouse at 7 East 76th was first listed in 2015 for $50 million; the price was later dropped to $42 million. Now, Shimada has raised the asking price by $3 million. On a per square foot basis, the current asking price is $3,214 per square foot.
“It’s the price that the owner would like to try in this market,” said listing agent Paula Del Nunzio of Brown Harris Stevens [TRDataCustom].
Known as the Clarence Whitman Mansion, the neo-Renaissance house is 24.5 feet wide with seven bedrooms, two terraces and a grand, rectangular staircase.
Shimada, whose family founded the Shimabun Corp., a Japanese iron and steel recycling business, bought the house in 1990, property records show. In 2015, Shimada transferred ownership of the house to a family foundation, the Tabizuru Foundation, for $3.2 million. Stan Ponte of Sotheby’s International Realty previously had the listing.
Despite headwinds in the luxury market, Del Nunzio said exquisite properties “that have merit” are selling.
The median sales price for Manhattan townhouses broke a 10-year record in 2015, when it jumped to $5.3 million, a 28 percent increase over 2014.
Earlier this month, art dealer Martin Zimet listed his townhouse at 17 East 65th Street for $40 million. The 9,440 square foot property is asking $4,237 per square foot.