UPDATE August 26, 2019 10:24 a.m.: Call it a sign of the times. A Billionaire’s Row penthouse that demanded $95 million back in 2012 has returned to market at nearly half that price — $49 million.
The two-level penthouse sits on top of a handful of pricey condos on the upper floors of the the Ritz-Carlton New York, Central Park hotel at 50 Central Park South. Its owner — identified by Forbes as financier Andrew Barron Worden — last put it on the market back in summer 2012, asking for $95 million during the same week that two other Manhattan properties were listed for that amount. But the condo never sold and it was taken offline a few months later.
Now, Worden is trying again with The Corcoran Group’s Irena Brownstein. She was not immediately available for comment.
The sprawling pre-war apartment underwent a $7 million renovation in the late 2000s and includes a 700-square-foot terrace that overlooks Central Park. The unit is currently configured as a three-bedroom, but the listing notes that it was originally planned to be a five-bed unit and it could “be easily converted back as per approved architectural plans.” It also has a private entrance, is fully soundproofed and has two gas fireplaces.
The listing is going live right after the biggest month on the books for luxury home transactions in New York City, due in part to the fact that new progressive taxes on closing costs for residential real estate have since gone into effect. Among the month’s top deals was Amazon chief Jeff Bezos’ record-breaking $80 million penthouse spread and hedge funder John Griffin’s $77 million townhouse purchase.
Despite a string of stratospheric deals in Manhattan’s luxury market this year, the residential market’s level of activity remains sluggish and listings on average take a 9 percent price chop before they sell, according to Donna Olshan. A StreetEasy analysis earlier this spring found that nearly 40 percent of condo resales in Midtown sold at a loss. The owner of the penthouse bought the unit for $19.95 million in 2006.
Editor’s Note: Forbes identified the owner of the penthouse in an article published August 23, 2019.