The city’s for sale, but who’s laying down millions and buying in?
Michael Nierenberg of New Residential Corp. and his wife Elin bought a three-level Greenwich Village penthouse for less than half the seller’s initial ask of nearly $34 million.
At Extell Development’s One57 tower, a 58th-floor condo sold for half its prior purchase price — a record resale loss for the project.
Other notable deals included Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen’s sale of their condo at 70 Vestry for $36.8 million. Actors Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick sold a West Village townhome for $15 million. Both were off-market deals so the properties’ initial ask is not known.
But those deals are just a taste. According to a review of deeds inked in December, an eclectic cadre of sellers and buyers — among them major real estate figures and a former cast member of the “Real Housewives of New York City” — flew under the radar. Here are other notable residential sales from last month.
28 Laight Street, Unit PH-N
Asking price: Unknown
Sale price: $7.8 million
Sellers: Benjamin and Linda Lambert
Buyer: 28 Laight Street PHN, LLC
Eastdil Secured’s Benjamin Lambert and his wife sold their Tribeca penthouse — which they picked up for $6.9 million in 2007 — to an anonymous buyer in an off-market deal. The couple’s wish for a quick deal was frustrated when a prospective buyer filed a lawsuit in relation to the sale. Daniel and Jean Yun placed a notice of pendency on the unit in addition to filing suit on Oct. 1 alleging that the Lamberts reneged on their agreement to sell them the property and instead sold the condo to their acquaintance. The Lamberts’ attorney responded that the Yuns were too slow to pull the trigger and now were lashing out in disappointment that “their sloth” cost them the deal.
The case was dismissed a few weeks later. The Lambert’s unit spent 76 days in contract before closing, and the Yuns went on to purchase TV producer Michael Davies’ Tribeca home at a 25 percent discount also in December. Representatives for the Lamberts declined to comment; a lawyer for the Yuns did not respond.
292 West 4th Street
Asking price: $16.3 million
Sale price: $15.9 million
Sellers: Ara and Rachel Lee Hovnanian
Buyer: AR Ventures Real Estate II
An anonymous buyer closed on the West Village townhome after nine days in contract.
The sellers, Ara Hovnanian, who leads national homebuilder Hovnanian Enterprises, and his wife, artist Rachel Lee Hovnanian, had previously tapped Dutch architect Piet Boon to renovate the 4,250-square-foot home, which includes a library, home gym, and both a rooftop deck and rear garden. The couple bought the West Village home from Australian actor Anthony LaPaglia for $7 million in 2012, and listed the 20-foot wide Italianate house with Serena Boardman of Sotheby’s International Realty in February. The house was also marketed jointly with the home next door as a potential megamansion opportunity, but the two properties ultimately found separate buyers.
294 West 4th Street
Asking price: $9.99 million
Sale price: $7.5 million
Seller: Straight Outta Mortlake LLC
Buyer: Douglas and Barbara Herrington
Right next door to the Hovnanian’s former home, another 20-foot wide townhouse sold — but at a loss to the seller. The uniquely-named entity, Straight Outta Mortlake, bought the 20th-Century townhouse in 2018 for $8.25 million, and sold it for $75,000 less.
The seller’s LLC has previously been connected to a managing agent named Winston Marshall, a founding member of the band Mumford & Sons. The musician and his wife, actress Dianna Agron, reportedly divorced in August. He could not be reached.
The buyers, Amazon executive Doug Herrington and his wife Barbara, did not respond to a request for comment. The deal closed after 40 days in contract. Herrington is a senior vice president overseeing the North America Consumer sector for the e-commerce giant. Clayton Orrigo and Stephen Ferrara of Compass’ Hudson Advisory Team handled the listing.
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Residential
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94 Mercer Street, Unit 6D
Asking price: Unknown
Sale price: $13 million
Seller: Mark Allison
Buyer: Two Trees Management
An entity tied to Two Trees Management picked up a Soho co-op in an off-market deal early in December. It wasn’t clear if a Two Trees executive was behind the purchase, but the firm’s CEO Jed Walentas purchased a Noho penthouse in a similarly structured deal in 2018.
The three-bedroom unit spans two floors with 2,000 square feet of private outdoor space with a roof deck and a two-story atrium. The unit is at the top of a historic cast-iron building and has a keyed elevator entrance as well as a wet bar, a chef’s kitchen and gas fireplace.
It wasn’t clear how much the seller, art philanthropist Mark Allison, paid for the property. Two Trees declined to comment on the purchase.
1021 Park Avenue, Unit 1011A
Asking price: Unknown
Sale price: $11.5 million
Seller: Esta Stecher
Buyers: Robert Frank and Rebecca Patterson
Robert Frank, a journalist and host of CNBC’s “Secret Lives of the Super Rich,” closed on an Upper East Side co-op with his wife, Rebecca Patterson, the director of investment research for Bridgewater Associates. The seller was Esta Stecher of Goldman Sachs Bank USA. The deal appears to have been done off market so it’s unclear what price the seller was seeking, but property transfer records dating back to 2008 priced the unit at around $5 million. The 14-story Rosario Candela-designed co-op has 27 apartments and was built in 1929.
429 Greenwich Street, Unit 9A
Sale price: $1.24 million
Sellers: Bennett Egeth and Jennifer Gilbert
Buyer: Jennifer Gilbert
After a year of scandal, event planner and former “Real Housewives of New York” cast member Jennifer Gilbert has taken sole ownership of the Tribeca home she jointly owned with her ex-husband, Bennett Egeth. Egeth was arrested in September after the family’s live-in nanny reported finding a hidden camera in her room to police. In a lawsuit she filed last month, the nanny revealed that she was tipped off about the camera in August after she saw a live video feed of her room on his iPad. Gilbert told the Daily News that she and Egeth divorced in the spring and that she hadn’t lived in the home with Egeth in seven years. The two bought the unit in 2007 for $6 million. Gilbert did not respond to a request for comment.