Socialite’s French-designed listing at 834 Fifth is “absurd”

It’s a $96 million apartment fit for a tea party, and not much else.

Even after socialite Susan Gutfreund slashed the $120 million asking price off her 12,000-square-foot home at 834 Fifth Avenue, industry observers still say the home has an “absurd” price, the New York Post reported.

When Gutfreund, the widow of “King of Wall Street” financier John Gutfreund, listed her pad at $120 million in April 2016, it was the city’s priciest listing. And it remains the priciest listing today even after she chopped $24 million off the ask.

“The price was a bit of a turn-off,” a broker told the Post of the initial listing price. “People were taken aback. It was absurd and even offensive. It didn’t strike the right note. It was not a good strategy.”

What’s more, brokers say the home, which hasn’t be remodeled since the 1980s, is wildly outdated and is configured for a family with one child, which means it would have to be remodeled to make way for a larger family.

“The home is very formal, traditional and European. It makes no sense for how people live today,” the broker said. “It needs as much of a gut renovation as you could possibly do. It’s perfectly nice for a tea party but it is way too dated.”

The home, which boasts 24-foot-high ceilings and a 50-foot-long living room, was designed by Rosario Candela in the 1930s.

The listing brokers are Brown Harris Stevens’ [TRDataCustom] Richard Ziegalasch and John Burger, as well as Craig Dix and Larry Kaiser of Key-Ventures. [NYP] – Rich Bockmann