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A penthouse unit at Extell Development’s Central Park Tower in New York City has gone under contract for more than $100 million, the developer has told The Wall Street Journal.
Gary Barnett, the founder and chairman of Extell, did not disclose exactly how much the unit is selling for, but he did confirm it was less than the asking price (most recently $149.5 million) but still “quite a bit” over $100 million.
“It’s the most expensive residence we’ve ever sold,” Barnett said.
A bedroom in the 107/108 floor penthouse at Central Park Tower | Credit: StreetEasy
Extell Marketing Group and Corcoran Sunshine Marketing Group held the listing, while Kent Wu, John Gomes and Fredrik Eklund of the Eklund | Gomes Team at Douglas Elliman represented the unidentified buyer.
The duplex, which spans the building’s 107th and 108th floors, initially went to market asking $175 million in early 2023 and underwent a $25.5 million price drop in the fall. The property spans about 12,560 square feet and includes seven bedrooms and two terraces. It features 30-foot ceilings and floor-to-ceiling windows on four exposures that display views of Central Park, Midtown, Downtown, and the East and Hudson Rivers.
The penthouse’s sales price has become something of a rarity in New York City in recent years. Although the luxury market has commanded its fair share of eight-figure deals, nine-figure deals have become more hard to come by compared to certain cities in California and Florida.
Hedge funder Ken Griffin’s $240 million purchase of a penthouse on Billionaires’ Row in 2019 remains a highlight of the city’s luxury market, which also maintains the record for the country’s priciest home sale. A deal that came somewhat close to that one was the $190 million sale of investor Daniel Och’s former penthouse overlooking Central Park in 2021.
A living area in the 107/108 floor penthouse at Central Park Tower | Credit: StreetEasy
Palm Beach and greater Los Angeles have seen far more nine-figure deals in recent years, however, including Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s $190 million purchase of a Tadao Ando-designed property in Malibu last year, which set a new record for the state of California. In Palm Beach, luxury car dealer Michael Cantanucci and his wife, Kimberly Cantanucci, paid about $170 million for a waterfront property last year, setting a new record for the city.
Central Park Tower is currently the tallest primarily residential building in the world, although a luxury tower in Dubai that’s under construction is slated to ultimately surpass Central Park Tower’s 1,550-foot height. The Billionaires’ Row property was completed in 2022 and features a private members club on the building’s 100th floor.
Sales were launched at a different time for real estate, in 2018, before the pandemic put a pause on the luxury market. Since then, Extell has discounted units throughout the building by 10 percent to 20 percent, according to Barnett. “Truthfully, we priced at the beginning in a different market,” he said.
A space in Central Park Tower’s 100th-floor resident lounge | Extell Development
The tower’s top penthouse, a triplex that was originally listed for $250 million in 2022, has since been discounted to the slightly more reasonable price of $195 million. “And hopefully that will be our next record sale,” Barnett said.
Demand for trophy properties has spurred a rise in sales activity recently, according to Barnett, leading to fewer inventory options for those interested in new construction. “The inventory has gotten eaten up,” Barnett said, “so I think we have a good chance to sell well.”
The median sales price on luxury properties in Manhattan rose 4.9 percent year over year during the fourth quarter of 2023 to $6.125 million, according to appraisal firm Miller Samuel. The number of closed sales, meanwhile, dropped 5.9 percent year over year.
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