I’ve been writing about real estate for quite a few years now. I first started out as a real estate journalist back in 2011, then became a copywriter for a real estate data provider, then made the switch to a marketing position for a home search portal. And then another home search portal. And then another (yes, some people just love real estate.)
And throughout the years, there was this one listing I kept coming across. The one listing that made me stop whatever I was doing to just take a couple of minutes and drool over its photos.
That listing was for the DUMBO Clocktower penthouse.
I never quite understood how such an exquisite penthouse could linger on the market for so many years without finding a buyer. How people would splurge on Manhattan pads with no character and ignore this beautiful three-story condo and its jaw-dropping views.
And since it finally found a lucky buyer — the DUMBO Clocktower penthouse sold a couple of weeks ago for $15 million — let’s take a moment and enjoy the photos before diving into the full story of this unique listing.
7 Years and Many Price Adjustments Later…
…the DUMBO Clocktower penthouse got its chance to shine!
The 1 Main Street triplex sold for $15 million — which makes it the most expensive condo sale in Brooklyn, snapping the title from a Brooklyn Bridge Park Pierhouse unit that closed just last month for $10.6 million.
But it’s been a rocky ride for the Brooklyn penthouse with killer Manhattan views (I have to stop and note that the four 14-foot glass clocks offer 360-degree views of everything from the Verrazano Bridge to the Empire State Building).
The DUMBO penthouse first hit the market in August 2009, asking a full $25 million. After failing to attract a sufficiently generous buyer, the listing went off the market, only to return in 2013 with a new broker (and a new asking: $18 million).
The new owner, whose name is masked under an LLC, will now get to enjoy a spacious open floorplan that seems to have been built for entertainment — which makes perfect sense: who wouldn’t want people over to flaunt the four 14-foot glass clocks that open up to unique 360-degree views of everything from the Verrazano Bridge to the Empire State Building.
More condos-to-die-for:
This $16M NYC Penthouse Has Unobstructed Views of Central Park and the Manhattan SkylineInside the $10M Hell’s Kitchen Penthouse that Trevor Noah Bought This $10M Penthouse at One Clinton Towers Over Brooklyn, Offers Jaw-Dropping City ViewsSee Inside a $5.7M Coco Chanel-Inspired Condo in the Trendy 40 Bleecker Building in NoHo, Manhattan
If you’ve ruled out winning the lottery as your chance to become a millionaire, you must have considered real estate investing a viable opportunity.
And if you haven’t, this article will plant the seed.
Real estate data firm PropertyShark took a closer look at how many property owners have made a good profit off of selling their homes since the turn of the century. More specifically, they looked at homes bought before 2001 for less than $1 million, later to be sold by their owner for $1+ million.
They then grouped the data by city, to give us a clear picture of the thriving real estate markets where investing in property can take us one step closer to becoming a millionaire. Here’s how they map out:
The city to land first place is — unsurprisingly — San Francisco, which minted 381 million real estate millionaires as the market skyrocketed in the past two decades. That puts it ahead of Manhattan, which, despite being double the size of San Francisco, only saw 335 people become millionaires off of selling their properties.
A more unexpected finding was that the Los Angeles market lost the third spot in favor of Brooklyn; the New York borough came in on #3, with 281 people making a good profit off of selling their homes for over $1 million.
Trailing closely behind, “the city of Los Angeles, with a population of more than 3.9 million, made 280 people millionaires since the turn of the century,” Robert Demeter reports for PropertyShark, adding that “L.A. isn’t as expensive as some of the neighboring cities in the county, but being spread out with a large number of residents, it’s no surprise it made it so high on our list. Affluent neighborhoods such as Bel-Air, Venice Beach and Brentwood most certainly paved the way for homeowners to become millionaires after selling their properties.”
Other notable markets where people achieved millionaire status by selling their homes are Potomac, MD (182 millionaires), Bethesda, MD (175 millionaires), San Jose, CA (119 millionaires), Queens, NY (93 millionaires), Scottsdale, AZ (86 millionaires), and Plainfield, IL (78 millionaires).
Out of the top 25 “millionaire cities”, 7 are located in the Silicon Valley area, where the median home price regularly goes over the $1 million mark.
It’s worth noting that the study only looked at the profits made off of selling homes in these markets with a sale price over $1 million.
It doesn’t take into account other financial holdings, investments or net worth of these individuals, who may have already been millionaires before selling their homes.
However, it’s a great indicator of markets that are most likely to mint out millionaires after buying local real estate.
It’s no news that New York City’s luxury real estate wasn’t skyrocketing in 2018. In fact, 2018 was not all that kind to any sector of the residential market; condo sales plummeted and home transaction values were sliding, registering a steady decline in prices not seen since 2009.
But the slowdown was a normal turn for the market, industry experts say. After years of unparalleled growth, the market is “normalizing” or, as REBNY president John Banks said, it’s going into “a natural cooling off interval after a very hot stretch.”
To put things into context, New York brokerage PropertyClub looked at the past 15 years of sales in the $1 million+ category, to signal out trends in terms of both closed transaction and sales volume, and give us a comprehensive view of how the market performed compared to the years that came before it:
Looking at the sales trend for the past 15 years confirms what REBNY president John Banks was saying; New York City’s real estate market saw a meteoric rise in the past years — with prices and sales of properties seeming unstoppable after the 2008 financial crisis.
A closer look at the market’s performance shows that, in the early 2000s, $1 million+ property sales were fairly rare, with only 1,753 sales being recorded in 2003 across New York City. By 2017 that number rose to 6,881.
In terms of sales volume, while early 2000s saw less than $3.7 billion generated by transactions in the $1 million+ segment, 2017 shattered all previous records with slightly over $20 billion in transactions.
But 2018 stepped in to break the pattern of uninterrupted growth, and ushered in the first slowdown in luxury sales since the 2008 financial crisis. Overall sales volumes for this segment dropped by approximately 12.5% to $17.8 billion.
What does this mean for New York City’s luxury home market?
That it’s time to take a breath.
According to Jonathan J. Miller, who runs the Miller Samuel appraisal firm in Manhattan, “The past year was more of a ‘normalization of the market’, after record activity in recent years.”
In a year-end report by the New York Times, referencing home sales across the city, Mr. Miller said that, comparatively speaking, “sales are not low — they are just not unusually high. It’s like we came off the autobahn: It feels very slow relative to the last three to four years, but historically it’s not.”
Pamela Liebman, chief executive of the Corcoran Group, shared the sentiment: “Since 2009, the market has gone on a very aggressive ride, and I think it’s normal that we see a bit of a slowdown.”
More NYC real estate news:
$238 Million Sale of NYC Penthouse Shatters All Previous Records, Becomes the Most Expensive Sale in U.S. History Massive Home in the Sky Above MoMa Asks $46.7 MillionLuxurious Greenwich Lane Condo Hits the Market, Seeks $18 Million Here’s How Many People Became Millionaires by Selling their Homes in the Hottest Real Estate Markets
The ongoing pandemic has thrown the real estate market off balance, and New York City took the brunt of it. Office spaces throughout the city are left empty as companies embrace remote work, while many renters chose to flee the crowded city and head to quieter — and perhaps safer — places.
However, we must not forget that NYC is resilient. Its charm cannot be easily replicated and its unique appeal continues to draw people in, even in the most dire of circumstances.
The city’s real estate market, one of the priciest and most coveted in the world, has definitely taken a hit, but don’t be fooled, it’s still going strong.
The proof is in the pudding, and in this case, the pudding is real estate listings. We found a few amazing homes for sale in NYC that will remind you of the best this city has to offer.
They are luxurious, exuding timeless elegance, and conveniently located in probably the most desirable place in the world — Manhattan. Let’s check them out.
#1 130 West 30th Street, Apt 3B | Chelsea | $2,495,000
All the properties we’re looking at today are unique, but this one is truly something else.
The two-bedroom, three-bathroom apartment is located at 130 West 30th Street, also known as The Cass Gilbert. If you’re at all passionate about architecture, that name will likely ring a bell.
The building was designed by the same architect responsible for the Woolworth Building, the New York Life Building, and the United States Supreme Court Building in Washington, D.C., among many others.
Unit 3B is selling for $2,495,000, and is currently listed with Marilyn Blume of Warburg Realty. The price tag is worth it just for the chance to own a piece of historic NYC architecture, but there’s much more to it than that.
This sun-flooded home is a corner unit with 11-foot ceilings, which means it offers plenty of natural light and nice views. Adding to that are hardwood floors, present throughout the loft-like home, and an additional office perfect for a work-from-home situation.
The large master bedroom has a seating area and a custom-fitted walk-in closet.
#2 110 West 25th Street, 3rd Floor | Chelsea | $3,285,000
This gorgeous three-bedroom, two-bathroom Chelsea gem is another unique property that you’re unlikely to find anywhere else outside of NYC.
Nestled within a historic prewar building completed in 1901, this 2,500-square-foot home works perfectly as a live/work/play space, which is exactly what most people are looking for right now.
The full-floor apartment is listed with Michael J. Franco of Compass. It is accessed via its own private, key-locked elevator, which leads into a massive, 38-foot living room with 17 (!) windows that offer unrivaled views of the city.
If you lived here, you probably wouldn’t feel the need to go out too often.
The apartment features a spa-size master bath adorned in floor-to-ceiling marble, a full library spanning over 20 feet in length, as well as a home office/third bedroom with sunny garden views to the east.
If you do feel the need to go outside, there’s no better place to be. 110 West 25th Street is just steps away from the High Line, Madison Square Park, and Hudson Yards.
This home basically offers the best of both worlds: the historic architecture of Chelsea, mixed with the modern, state-of-the-art developments of the Hudson Yards neighborhood.
#3 130 East 67th Street, Apt 3C | Lenox Hill | $2,995,000
A chic modern renovation meets classic details and grand prewar proportions in this lovely three-bedroom residence.
With its bright, sun-flooded living room, oversized windows overlooking a tree-lined East 67th Street, decorative crown molding and beam ceilings, this apartment oozes elegance and comfort.
All three bedrooms are generously sized and have plenty of storage options, not to mention custom millwork, and outfitted California Closets.
There are two windowed full bathrooms, including a spa-like primary bath with a double vanity and an over-sized seated shower.
Other features of this beautiful home include a lacquered powder room, wide plank oak herringbone floors, 9’4″ high beamed ceilings, and generous wall space for displaying art. It’s currently listed with Allison Chiaramonte and Tania Isacoff Friedland of Warburg Realty.
#4 465 West End Avenue, Unit PH | Upper West Side | $2,775,000
Our list wouldn’t be complete without a staple penthouse unit; and we found one of the best ones out there.
This 2-bed, 2-bath penthouse at 465 West End Avenue is perched atop a 12-story pre-war building built in the Italian Renaissance style. Its design bears the signature of acclaimed architect D. Everett Waid, who also lent his creative genius to the MetLife building at 1 Madison Ave.
Priced at $2,775,000, the penthouse has striking features, including a solarium that’s currently used as a dining room but that can easily be converted into a second bedroom.
There’s also a 2,900-square-foot wraparound terrace with plenty of space for gatherings and views that rival some of the best buildings in the city. And the terrace is accessible from every room in the property.
The stunning views have everything to do with the unit’s location — as the penthouse sits on West End Avenue’s coveted Gold Coast (between 82nd and 83rd Streets), which places it near Riverside Park, the Hudson River Greenway, excellent shopping and dining, as well as the Children’s Museum of Manhattan. The property is listed with Compass’ Martin Eiden.
#5 611 West 138th Street | Hamilton Heights | $2,195,000
Nowadays, Manhattan is famous for its state-of-the-art, glossy skyscrapers. But the property we’re about to look at offers something completely different, and it stands as a veritable piece of NYC history in itself.
The five-bedroom, two-bathroom brownstone has 3,150 square feet of living space, all lovingly restored and preserved.
One of the highlights of this property (it’s hard to pick just one) is the kitchen, which features perfectly preserved, wall-to-wall, original wood cabinetry dating from the late 1800s. That’s not something you’ll find too often in the city, and it’s truly something special.
Another highlight of this home, listed with Warburg Realty’s Samantha Rose Frith, is a 750-square-foot, impeccable landscape private garden.
The home is currently being used as a single-family dwelling, but it can also be split into a three-bedroom, one-bathroom duplex with two-bedroom, one-bathroom rental on the third floor. There is also a 1,050-square-foot basement level that’s being used as a laundry room and storage space.
More luxury homes in the city
443 Greenwich St. building & the 12 biggest celebrities that lived here
The San Remo building and its famous residents
The Dakota, New York’s first luxury apartment building
Full-Floor Residence at the Newly Built Flatiron House
A beautiful unit just came to market at 500 Waverly, on the corner of Waverly Avenue and Fulton Street — where the neighborhoods of Clinton Hill, Fort Greene, and Prospect Heights all meet.
But if you think location is all this apartment has going for it, you’d be sorely mistaken.
The sun-filled corner unit has both space and views to boast, thanks to its clever layout that maximizes every inch of the apartment, despite its rather modest 690 sq. ft.
The living room has a highly coveted North and West corner exposure with great views of the colorful facades of the original 1930s buildings across Fulton Street and the courtyards of the neighboring buildings of Clinton Street. The living room is large, and spacious enough to have a separate dining table and chairs.
And if you’re a sneakers buff, then here’s a special treat for you: the 500 Waverly apartment has the most insane sneakers collection!!
Based on the listing photos, we can assume that the current owner sure has a knack for his Nikes and Jordans, and doesn’t want to have them sleeping in a separate room all by themselves, fitting the bedroom with a wall-to-wall display to showcase them.
It doesn’t hurt either that the Drake-worthy shoe collection stands right next to the oversized windows (and 9′ ceilings) that shower it with light, letting us properly appreciate the impressive sneakers collection in all its glory.
While the badass shoe display totally caught my eye, another nifty feature this apartment come with — and a little more practical than the shiny shoe collection — is a 25-year 421A tax abatement that will be keeping monthlies low for future owners.
The unit is part of 500 Waverly, a boutique condo building designed by GKV Architects.
Recently completed in 2017, the stylish 500 Waverly only comes with 48 residences, but has quite the list of amenities, including an entertaining lounge, a second-floor terrace with grills, a landscaped rooftop terrace with jaw-dropping views of the neighboring tree-lined blocks and the Manhattan skyline, a fitness center, bike storage, and fully-automated on-site parking (though that’s not included with the purchase, according to the listing).
To inquire about the property, reach out to agent Frank Suriano with Compass, who holds the listing.
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A sun-drenched loft with double-height ceilings and great views of the Queensboro Bridge recently hit the market, and we’re dying to talk about it.
The 1,340-square-foot apartment is part of 205 East 59th Street, a 27-story condo building with a killer location in the Upper East Side and only three apartments on each floor, something you’re not likely to see often in Manhattan.
Priced at $2,290,000, the loft has a large, gorgeous living room with double-height ceilings, a fireplace, and an open gourmet kitchen. Two spacious split bedrooms and two full baths complete the picture, along with two balconies that open up to picture-perfect views of the Queensboro Bridge.
Last listed for sale in 2017 with a $2,525,000 price tag, the condo at 205 East 59th street is now back on a market with fresh representation and a more affordable asking price.
Cecilia Serrano and Hala Lawrence of Warburg Realty are tasked with finding a buyer for the 1,340-square-foot loft.
When it comes to the building itself, amenities at 205 East 59th Street are downright impressive, as residents have access to Sky’s the Limit Concierge Service, a full-time doorman, central air conditioning, a roof deck and a garden.
Not to mention that the building has its own private puppy park, making it especially appealing to dog owners.
The building is close to Central Park and the restaurants and retail stores along Third Avenue, with the Yankee Stadium being just a short ride away on the 4 train.
That last detail may have peaked the interest of soccer legend Andrea Pirlo, who at one point was considering renting in the building. And while Pirlo hasn’t moved in (as far as we now), 205 East 59th St has all the chops to attract celebrity tenants, which only adds to the appeal of this sun-drenched loft.
More luxury homes in NYC
Very Vogue: Greta Garbo’s Longtime Apartment in New York Lists for $7.25 MillionLoft Inside a Former Theatre in Hell’s Kitchen Wants $2.4 Million The Many Famous Residents of the San Remo, NYC’s First Twin-Towered BuildingThe Conjuring House Sells for Over $1.5 Million Despite its Sordid History
Anne Hathaway’s home in the new Amazon Prime series Modern Love is now up for grabs; the posh 2 bedroom co-op, set in NYC’s historic Astor Memorial School at 256 Mott Street has recently hit the market with a $3.5 million ask.
If you haven’t yet had the chance to check it out, Modern Love is Amazon’s eight-episode anthology series that brings the stories of a beloved New York Times column to life, complete with a star-studded cast and iconic New York backdrops.
Each episode is based on a real person’s essay, with the third in the series being centered on Lexi, an entertainment lawyer played by Anne Hathaway who’s been hiding her bipolar diagnosis from everyone in her life.
This episode leads us into Lexi’s apartment, set in a boutique, self-managed co-op in Tribeca — a fittingly intimate and stylish pad to suit Hathaway’s character story.
Apart from Hathaway, Modern Love also stars Tina Fey, Julia Garner, Catherine Keener, Dev Patel, Andrew Scott, John Slattery and Andy Garcia, among others.
“Since its debut just last week, the reaction to ‘Modern Love’ from viewers has been incredible. It’s a show with so much emotion and warmth — every episode touches the heart in a different way,” said Jennifer Salke, head of Amazon Studios.
And if you’re a big fan of the series and just so happens to be hunting for a home in NYC, you can now buy Hathaway’s apartment — provided that your pockets run $3.5 million deep.
Available for sale for the first time in 15 years, this mint-condition parlor residence features 14 windows, 4 exposures, approximately 1,800 square feet of living space, 2 bedrooms, and 2 bathrooms.
Soaring 11’7” ceiling heights and remarkable original details which have been masterfully restored make this one of the most special homes to ever hit the market in prime Nolita.
The master bathroom is crisp and beautifully appointed with a deep soaking tub, a large walk-in shower, marble mosaic tiling throughout and two large windows.
There is a wall of closets in the master, an antique Italian crystal chandelier, and a door that provides direct access to 256 Mott’s outdoor mews, which can be used by any resident in the building.
To learn more about the property or to schedule a tour, get in touch with the listing’s agents: Compass’ Todd Lewin and Michael Rubin.
More homes from movies and TV shows
All the Glamorous Penthouses, Suites, and Lofts in Gossip Girl The Story Behind Carrie Bradshaw’s Apartment in “Sex and the City” We Are the Ones Who Knock — on Walter White’s Fictional Door in Breaking Bad The Real-Life House from Netflix’s ‘The Stranger’
How is commercial real estate doing in NYC? The upshot: “I think all the loans that were originated over the last eight years are today underwater,” Okada said. While there are parallels to the GFC in 2008-09, today’s crises are not as cataclysmic, he suggested. What’s more, homeowners will be safe once the economic tide … [Read more…]
When Bogotá-based visual artist Lorenza Panero, bought her New York apartment, she knew that the space would need to be rethought to better suit her needs (and unique style). With the help of architect Ted Porter, Panero reconfigured the apartment with an artistâs eye, adding to both the aesthetic appeal of the pied-à -terre and to […]
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In the very heart of NoMad, atop the Gilsey House â an elegant cast-iron building that served as a hotel until 1911 and welcomed famed guests like Oscar Wilde â a beautiful two-story penthouse just came to market. Bearing a $5 million price tag, the elegant unit promises a carefully crafted, gracious floor plan that […]
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