$50M for NYC’s Top Trophy Apartments

The base price for the city’s top trophy apartments has doubled to an unprecedented $50 million over the past year, thanks to an influx of foreign house-hunting billionaires.

At least 19 condos and co-ops are on the market for at least $50 million — with the most expensive offered for $130 million in the pre-construction phase.

It will occupy what is now a private club at the River House on East 52nd Street and will boast five bedrooms, 10 baths, a pool, tennis court and IMAX screening room.

If that seems a bit steep, there’s a triplex penthouse available at The Pierre hotel for $125 million.

Even Hell’s Kitchen is in on the act, with an $85 million apartment at 635 W. 42nd St. A smaller apartment in that building was once a Lindsay Lohan crash pad.

That 10,000-square-foot unit’s building includes a “sky-lit” indoor pool, 12,000-square-foot health club, rooftop lounge, rooftop terraces, basketball court, tennis court, golf driving range, movie theater, BBQ grills, and free bikes, crosstown shuttle buses and daily breakfasts. There’s also a garage, and a contemporary art gallery in the lobby.

“It’s a unique time in the market when the $50 million apartment has become the norm,” said Pamela Liebman, CEO of the Corcoran Group.

She credited “the creation of super-luxury towers that appeal to billionaires from around the world. New York City continues to be the number-one place where the world’s super-wealthy want a home.”

Billionaires from China and the Middle East “are helping to create the high demand for this once unheard-of number,” Liebman added.

“I wouldn’t be surprised to see $100 million apartments in the next couple of years,” she added.

If you want a hipper location, there’s a $50 million penthouse duplex at Trump Soho.
At 15 Central Park West — where Citigroup’s former chief Sandy Weill sold his penthouse for $88 million to a Russian billionaire — another listing is asking $70 million.

Nearby, at the Time Warner Center, there’s a $75 million six-bedroom for sale along with a $50 million three-bedroom.

Some of the buildings for billionaires have their own version of low-income units.
Sure, a $95 million unit is being offered at The Sherry-Netherland hotel.

But for a mere $1 million, you can buy a more modest one-bedroom unit in the Fifth Avenue building.