Whether you’re an action movie junkie or rom-com lover, there’s a little something for everyone in this deal.
Ann Brashares, the author of the bestselling book series “Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants,” and her husband have sold their Upper East Side townhouse to movie producer — and accountant — Jeffrey Weiner for $11 million, public records show.
Weiner’s most famous film credits include the Bourne film franchise starring Matt Damon, and he also runs an independent accounting and advisory firms. Weiner has taken out a $7 million mortgage on the property.
Brashares herself is no stranger to Hollywood as her book series was adapted to the screen with actors Blake Lively, Amber Tamblyn, Alexis Bledel and America Ferrera.
The five-bedroom carriage house at 167 East 69th Street was built in 1910. It measures 25-feet in width and spans 7,000 square feet spread over four stories, which also includes a chef’s kitchen and a 400-square-foot terrace.
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Brashares and her partner, artist Jacob Collins, bought the property for $3.65 million in 2001, confirmed broker Jed Garfield, who represented them. The couple first showed interest in selling in April 2018, when Garfield listed the property for $18.95 million.
After two months he dropped the price by $2 million, and the property was ultimately pulled off the market in May 2019.
“Did that seem like the right number? Yeah, of course, it did,” said Garfield. “If you look at all the things that were on the market at that time, the arithmetic works.”
But, with hindsight, he admitted it was “wrong price, wrong time.”
“You talk to any good broker, you make mistakes. You price things to market and the market goes against you…and you sort of look like a schmuck,” he said. “Most of the time it works out.”
The home was relisted asking $14.99 million a few months later with Compass broker Austin Schuster. The asking price dropped again to $11.99 million before Brashares and Collins appear to have signed a contract with Weiner in November.
In the end, Brashares and Collins sold the home sold at nearly 42 percent of its original ask. But Garfield called it “only relatively a bad outcome” as the couple more than tripled their initial investment.
“Ultimately it got sold and that’s all the matters — and they made money,” he said. “It’s no better or no worse. We’re all getting dragged around by the market.”
In 2019, the average price chop for homes priced $4 million or more was 10 percent, according to Olshan Realty. Average days on the market for those properties hit a four-year high of 496.
Schuster represented both parties on the deal. According to listing records, he began representing Brashares and Collins in July 2019. He said he fielded three offers for the property and declined to comment further.
Write to Erin Hudson at ekh@therealdeal.com