NY nesting News

Never ever accept the first offer. That’s rule no. 1 in Brent Montgomery’s hit show “Pawn Stars”. Obviously the stars of the show were not the ones doing the negotiations for the purchase of a new condo that Mr. Montgomery recently bought as he only received 2% off the asking price, so much for practicing what you preach. The duplex penthouse inside The Olcott at 27 West 72nd Street has 2,772 square feet, 7 rooms and 3 bedrooms. It was on the market for 13 weeks and was brokered by the Corcoran Group.

Some Hollywood stars wait decades for the opportunity to win an Academy Award, while a few lucky ones like Mira Sorvino get theirs early on. The same principle applies to condo sales in Manhattan. Some wait months if not up to a year to sell their homes, while a few lucky ones like Mira sell their condos in less than 45 days.

Diddy’s, Sean John ad at Times Square will probably remain there forever having becoming as much as a New York institution as the rapper/producer is himself. However, his face won't be seen for that much longer at his current condo in Manhattan. Diddy has listed his condominium inside the Park Imperial at 230 West 56th Street. The three-bedroom, 2,300-square-foot condo on the 66th-floor was redesigned into a one-bedroom in order to have a media room and piano room created entertaining.

A 10-room duplex apartment at 32 Washington Square West in Greenwich Village has just returned to the market and according to The Real Estalker. Actress Mary-Louise Parker has listed it. The duplex was on the market for 27 weeks initially asking $7,995,000, but was taken off in August until it hit the market again yesterday. The 3000-square-foot, 10-room, 5-bedroom and 4,5-bathroom apartment has two very cozy active fireplaces and 26 windows.

Living in New York’s tallest residential building seems to attract an incredible amount of billionaires. Compensating for something, lads? Although, the facts are impressing:

The luxury super-scraper at 432 Park Avenue might still be in development, but prices have increased for a second time. The total asking price for all 122 condominiums will be $2.43 billion provided no price increase takes place until 2015 when the building is completed and condos go up for sale. That makes an average square-foot-price of $5,941, which is just slightly lower than One57’s which cashes in at $6,000 per square foot.

Arabella 101 in Manhattan's East Village was the first luxury rental building constructed on Avenue D, despite its rather negative reputation as an unsafe area. The Local reports that the developer Rash LCC has purchased four adjacent lots at the corner of Avenue D and East Fifth Street for $3.6 million in order to build a new luxury rental building with studios as well as 1, 2, and 3 bedroom apartments.

Despite Walmart’s efforts to break into the New York City market for more than 7 years, it has faced another big setback to its plan. A new mall being constructed in Brooklyn, known as the project Gateway 2, has a very large space available, which Walmart reportedly has been incredibly interested to lease. Walmart’s spokesman said “…we were unable to agree upon economic terms for a project in East New York”.

Steve Ells, Chipotle’s founder, co-CEO and Chairman has listed his completely redesigned West Village townhouse for $16.5 million. The 5,000-square-foot Greek Revival house located at 92 Jane Street underwent an extraordinary renovation, transforming the rear façade installing super modern floor to ceiling windows, and in turn building up walls around the garden for 100% privacy. Ells purchased the townhouse right after its transformation into a minimalist-modern-palace in 2008 for $13.4 million.

Another Sex and the City star has gotten busy with Manhattan’s real estate market. Sarah Jessica Parker and her husband, Matthew Broderick, have listed their luxury Greek Revival townhouse at 20 East 10th Street. The couple bought the townhouse for $18.995 million only 18 months ago after spending several years of apartment hunting.

In 2008, the collapse of Lehman Brothers caused a world wide financial crisis. It filed for bankruptcy protection, yet the investment bank controls more than $10 billion of real estate assets, the New York Times reported. Since 2008 Lehman has been working on improving its buildings, finding new tenants and selling its stakes. For instance, 200 Fifth Avenue had an occupancy rate of merely 45% in 2008 and increased to 80% in 2010 after some improvements and restructuring of its debt. Once the building became more attractive, Lehman sold its stake in the building to J.P. Morgan.

Cynthia Nixon, from famed New York set series Sex and the City, has sold her Upper West Side co-op for $1.59 million located at 169 West 78th Street. The six-room, three-bedroom and two-bathroom apartment was on the market for 29 weeks and listed with Halstead Property. Cynthia and her family have a very neat four-bedroom co-op in NoHo at 10 Bleecker Street, which she purchased in January this year for approximately $3.25 million.

The Observer

David Duchovny is in contract to buy a co-op inside the Ardsley at 320 Central Park West, which is famous for its co-op board rejecting Mariah Carey when she tried to buy an apartment there. Barbara Streisand once owned the penthouse at the Ardsley. Mr. Duchovny, however, is looking to downgrade to a place on the 19th floor instead for $6.25 million. Even from that “low” vantage point there are beautiful views of the reservoir in Central Park, and a very cozy fireplace. The apartment last sold in 2001 for $3.25 million.

Def Jam founder Russell Simmons has listed his duplex penthouse condominium at 114 Liberty Street in Manhattan’s Financial District for $11M. This is not the first time Mr. Simmons has listed his 14-room, 5-bedroom, 4.5-bathroom, 7,175-square-foot penthouse as it was listed in 2005 for $11M, but it unfortunately didn’t sell. This time the unit is exclusively listed with Deborah Grubman and David Dubin of the Corcoran Group. The duplex features high ceilings, a library, marble bathrooms, terrace and a powder room.

The national real estate listing website trulia.com aims to raise up to $100 million in an initial public offering. The San Francisco based company had planned to raise $75 million, but revised its plans in a regulatory filing on Friday. Trulia plans to release six million shares at $14 to $16 a share.