Historic UES townhouse sells for nearly $60 million

Deal came together over FaceTime and included the furniture, which added several million to the price.

Loy Carlos with 36 East 68th St
Loy Carlos with 36 East 68th St (Serhant, Getty)

A historic Upper East Side townhouse sold for about $57 million, flying in the face of a generally slowing real estate market.

The off-market deal is indicative of high-end townhouses’ resistance to headwinds, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Ryan Serhant, who represented the seller with his brokerage’s Loy Carlos, said he is “continuing to see action and traction in the super prime market, despite global economic uncertainty.”

(Ryan Serhant)

It’s the third townhouse deal in the $50 million range in recent months. Last month a Beaux-Arts mansion once home to the Permanent Mission of Serbia to the United Nations sold for $50 million. That same month, Keith Rubenstein’s townhouse sold for just under $50 million, the Journal reported.
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The most recent sale, at 36 East 68th Street, included the furniture, which added several million dollars to the price. The 22-foot-wide townhouse was sold by an entity connected to Felice Lasalvia di Clemente, who was an executive in the Italian organic grocery store industry. The home was last bought for $16 million in 2022, according to property records.

The buyer is based in South Africa and works in finance, according to the Journal. Initial showings took place over FaceTime and the deal was nearly finalized by the time the buyer, reprpesented by Adam Solomon and Assad Masri of Douglas Elliman, saw it in person.

The home was built in 1879 and modified in the Neoclassical style in the 1930s, the publication reported, citing research by the nonprofit Friends of the Upper East Side Historic Districts. It’s more than 9,200 square feet and has six bedrooms and staff rooms. The recently gut-renovated property includes an indoor pool and sauna. The house also has two floors below street level.

It’s been a strong year for townhouse sales, with records set in lower Manhattan and Brooklyn.