Investor lists landmarked Village townhouse for $11M — the same price he paid for it in 2021

Buyers inclined for a gut reno can tack on the home next door for a combined $24M

A photo illustration Steven Ostad and 36 and 38 West 11th Street
A photo illustration Steven Ostad and 36 and 38 West 11th Street (Getty, Rich Caplan)

Real estate entrepreneur Steven Ostad is selling his Greenwich Village townhouse at cost.

The founder of brokerage Empire City Realty and, more recently, lending business Real Quick Capital put the home at 36 West 11th Street in Greenwich Village on the market for just under $11 million — roughly the same price Ostad paid for it in 2021, records show.

Serhant’s Nicole Palermo, who has the listing along with Ryan Serhant, declined to elaborate on the asking price, but noted that at $1,700 per square foot, the 6,500-square-foot, nine-bedroom home’s price is below average for unrenovated townhouses in the area, which the New York Post dubbed “the new Billionaires’ Row” in 2021.

“We’re really priced to sell and we’re trying to maintain an attractive position in the market,” Palermo said. “Newly renovated townhouses in the Village are selling for over $4,000 a foot which is pricing that we’ve really never seen Downtown.”

36 West 11th Street
36 West 11th Street (Rich Caplan)

The landmarked townhouse, in need of a gut renovation, was built in 1840.

A particularly well-heeled buyer can add on the townhouse next door at 38 West 11th Street for a grand total of $24 million. The combined home would be a 44-foot-wide mansion spanning more than 12,000 square feet.

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The home at 38 West 11th Street is rented through the end of the week as part of the set for “Feud: Capote’s Women,” the second season of FX’s “Feud” series, which will star Demi Moore, Chloe Sevigny, Diane Lane and Molly Ringwald, according to Douglas Elliman’s Bertrand Buchin, who has that listing.

Demand for townhouses was strong last year and initially resisted the market slowdown triggered by higher interest rates, as luxury townhouse buyers are typically less reliant on financing. A shortage of materials and contractors caused by the pandemic heightened demand for turnkey properties and turned buyers away from costly renovation projects.

Mets owner Steve Cohen, who seems to have little concern for costs of any kind, is building a 30,000-square-foot mansion across several combined Washington Street properties, according to the Post. 

Nearby, Actors Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick bought adjacent properties on West 11th Street for $34.5 million in 2016 and combined them into a massive home. Chipotle founder Steve Ells bought a $30 million townhouse on East 11th Street, which he flipped last year for a $6 million profit. The East 11th Street house turned out to be just a pricey crash pad while he waited out renovations at his real mansion down the street.

Meanwhile, 38 West 11th Street has gone unsold since it was first listed in July 2021 for $19 million. Its asking price was slashed several times, eventually to under $13 million last April. 

“Everybody that buys these houses right there, they are redoing everything,” said Buchin, before addressing his listing. “You negotiate a little bit, it starts making sense to get a 44-wide townhouse on 11th street … The only reason this has not happened is because of the pandemic.”

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