When Gary Barnett listed his Central Park Tower penthouse for $250 million, he raised eyebrows over whether he’d lock down a buyer at such an ambitious, or perhaps audacious, price.
But a year later, the high bar the Extell Development boss set has been lowered by $55 million.
The developer slashed the price of the 17,500-square-foot triplex on Wednesday to $195 million, or $11,100 per square foot — more than a 20 percent decrease from the original listing price, according to Streeteasy and first reported by Crain’s New York.
“The original pricing on these units were headline prices,” Barnett said in an emailed statement. “We have recently sold a significant amount of inventory at the top of the building and now want to get serious about selling these two showcase homes.”
Ryan Serhant, head of his eponymous brokerage, has the listing.
Since it hit the market, the former “Million Dollar Listing” star has splashed the penthouse across his social media channels. In a video posted to his Instagram account in January, Serhant labeled the penthouse the “highest residence” with the “highest terrace” in the world. The unit also made it to the front page of The Wall Street Journal.
Serhant and Barnett may seem like an unlikely duo, but they have been working together for years. One of Serhant’s first deals was a two-bedroom unit at Extell’s 80 Riverside Boulevard, dubbed Rushmore. And they have teamed up on a few sponsor units at Barnett’s One57.
Few residential deals have closed for more than $200 million, even on Billionaire’s Row. Among the few is hedge-funder Ken Griffin’s purchase of a 23,000-square-foot quadplex at Vornado’s 220 Central Park South, which broke the record for the priciest home sale in the U.S. at $238 million.
In the five-year period before the penthouse’s listing, only 10 homes across the country had closed for more than $150 million, and most of those sold considerably under their asking prices, according to data from Marketproof.
At the time, industry leaders cast doubt on Extell’s lofty price tag. Appraiser Jonathan Miller called homes at this price point a “circus sideshow,” while Marketproof’s Kael Goodman said it was “pure aspiration.”
But the low odds didn’t deter Barnett, who has notched nine-figure deals of his own. Billionaire businessman Michael Dell paid $100.5 million for a condo at Extell’s One57 in 2015.
When the penthouse hit the market, Barnett considered a quarter of a million dollars a fitting sum for the sprawling seven-bedroom overlooking the park.
“There’s a bunch of artwork going for $100 million and even $200 million,” Barnett told the Wall Street Journal. “When you compare that to 17,000 feet of steel and brick and glass at the top of the world, this seems like a relative bargain.”
Since closings started in 2021, discounts have plagued the supertall, marketed as the world’s tallest residential building. Barnett initially projected a $4 billion sellout for the building, but he acknowledged last year that it would likely be closing to $3 billion.
The developer also dropped the price of another penthouse at the supertall yesterday. The 12,600-square-foot duplex is now asking $149.5 million, down from the $175 million when it hit the market in March.
UDATED: This story was updated with a statement from Gary Barnett.
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