The Most Expensive NYC Residential Real Estate Sales of All-Time

Most Expensive New York Residential Listings

New York City is consistently ranked one of the most expensive cities to live in, in the entire world. From food to concert tickets, everything costs considerably more here. Like all cities with high-costs of living, purchasing real estate is also extremely expensive. When one-bedroom apartments in Brooklyn can be rented for $4,000 a month, purchasing a condo or a penthouse is very costly. Most people rent in New York because of this, however a select few can afford to buy property. A three bedroom, 2,500 square-foot apartment in downtown Manhattan can cost around $3 million dollars, for reference. Now try an imagine what penthouse apartments next to central park with 12 rooms cost. We are going to look at the most expensive residential real estate sales for New York City of all time, and they are absolutely insane.

5. The Two-Story Condo at 50 Central Park South – $70 Million

50 Central Park South

Back in 2005, the fifth most expensive piece of real estate in New York City was sold. Located at 50 Central Park South, above the ultra-exclusive Ritz Carlton is this incredible duplex. Taking up two stories and exactly 10,882 square-feet of total space, this condo was designed and decorated like a palace. The place was purchased by Steve Wynn, a prominent casino mogul, who shelled out an insane $70 million dollars. The penthouse apartment was located on the 30th and 31st floor of the building, so the views here are incredible and you can see most of Manhattan and Central Park. This impressive pad offers fourteen rooms, including a 900 square-foot living room and his and hers walk-in closets. Oh also apparently the monthly maintenance fee for this penthouse is $18,057.

4. The 960 Fifth Avenue Co-Op – $70 Million

960 Fifth Avenue Apartment

Shattering the record for the most expensive Co-Op every purchased in the city of New York at the time (It’s now the second most expensive, and the previous record was $54 million), is this expansive penthouse living space located at 960 Fifth Avenue. This massive penthouse was sold in 2014 to a man by the name of Nassef Sawiris. Sawiris is not only a billionaire, but also the richest person from Egypt. He amassed a large fortune from his construction business, and wanted to pick up a sweet New York pad. While the interior work needs to be updated, and I’m sure Sawiris can afford it, this penthouse is pretty impressive. It offers sixteen rooms in total including five bedrooms, eight and a half bathrooms, four staff rooms, and an incredible terrance that offers 100-feet of incredible views. After an intense bidding war, Mr. Sawiris picked up the penthouse apartment for $70 million dollars.

3. The Duplex at 740 Park Avenue – $71.3 Million

740 Park Avenue 

The next piece of real-estate on our list is a co-op located at 740 Park Avenue in one of the richest apartment buildings in the world. This property is also actually the most expensive co-op to have ever been sold in New York City, beating out the last property on our list just three months later. The co-op was purchased by Israel Englander, a billionaire hedge-fund master, who purchased the property after an intense bidding war. The property was originally occupied by the French United Nations ambassador, but he decide to move out. He listed the place for $48 million dollars, but many people wanted to live here, causing Englander to spend so much. The apartment offers eighteen rooms total located on prime real estate, however I think the interior design could use a bit of updating.

2. The Penthouse at 15 Central Park West – $88 Million

15 Central Park West 

Next up on our list is an impressive penthouse apartment located at Central Park West. I’m sure you’re seeing a pattern by now as all of these listings are either across or extremely close to Central Park in Manhattan. The apartment was sold from the head of Citigroup, Sanford Weill, to one of the richest person in the world: Dmitry Rybolovlev. Dimitry amassed his fortune through many different business and even is the president of the AS Monaco football club. The four bedroom apartment expands over 6,700 square-feet and has been recently re-designed. Mr. Rybolovlev dropped $88 million on this apartment, and it seems like he won’t ever use it. According to sources he gave this apartment to his 25 year-old daughter Ekaterina. I for one, am jealous.

1. The Penthouse One57 Apartment – $100.47 Million

 One57 Apartment

The most expensive piece of residential real estate in New York City was actually just sold earlier in December. Located on 57th street is the One57 high-rise apartment building, and the top two floors (the 89th and 90th) are one expansive apartment. The penthouse was sold for $100.47 million dollars to an unknown buyer, as a LLC was recorded down as the purchaser. While we don’t know who purchased the apartment, we do know that it was the most expensive ever sold. The penthouse offers six bedrooms, seven bathrooms, two powder rooms, and more all located on 10,923 square-feet of space. Since the building is so high, the views are also pretty unparalleled. Whoever this anonymous owner is, certainly has one of the nicest pads in the city.

Photos by Amy Sussman/Getty Images, NyDailyNews.com , Ny.Curbed.com

Written by Sebastian Hensiek

From Philadelphia, Sebastian is a fan of music, writing, art, and entertainment.