Jeffrey Epstein’s Manhattan Townhouse Sells at a Big Discount

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Notorious sex offender Jeffrey Epstein‘s palatial New York City pad has gone under contract—after a massive price cut.

The opulent seven-story townhouse is under contract for an eye-popping sum of about $50 million, sources told the Wall Street Journal. However, that price is far lower than the initial $88 million price tag slapped onto the French Neoclassical mansion on the Upper East Side of Manhattan when it went up for sale in July. The price was reduced to $65 million in January.

The money from the sale is slated to go to the victims of Epstein who filed claims against the disgraced financier’s estate. He died by suicide in prison in 2019.

When the sale of the 28,000-square-foot home closes, it will be the most expensive sale in Manhattan this year, says New York City luxury real estate broker Donna Olshan. It will also be one of the most expensive townhome sales ever in the city.

“It’s very reasonable for one of the most prime locations and private residences in New York City,” says Olshan, touting the home’s size. “It sounds crazy because the numbers are so big. … [But] the buyer got a very good deal.”

Olshan, who has no connection to the sale, believes the initial $88 million price tag on the property was wildly overpriced.

“They started at a very unrealistic number. Once the price was lowered, it showed the market they were willing to negotiate,” she says.

Olshan also doesn’t think the Epstein connection hurt the sale price.

“Buyers for this kind of property are going to put their stamp on it,” she says. “They’re going to make it their headquarters or home, and all traces of Jeffrey Epstein and his notorious behavior will [be] eradicated.”

The townhouse was commissioned by Macy’s department store heir Herbert N. Straus on one of Manhattan’s most prestigious blocks. It sits on East 71st Street, between Fifth and Madison avenues. Construction was finished in the 1930s.

In the mid-1940s, the home became an extension of the St. Claire Hospital. Two decades later it was transformed into the Birch Wathen School.

It last changed hands in 1989 for $13.2 million, according to realtor.com® data.

The Manhattan home was Epstein’s most expensive piece of real estate, according to the Journal. He also owned properties in Paris, New Mexico, and Florida.

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source https://www.realtor.com/news/celebrity-real-estate/jeffrey-epstein-new-york-city-townhouse-under-contract/