It was recently suggested to us that we include 926 Fifth Avenue in our ongoing roundup of $20-million-townhouses. Ah, nice try, but we've been burned on that one before! We know the place is just a long-term rental masquerading as a mansion-for-sale. Still, we checked the listing (now with Stribling) again, just for kicks, and what do you know, the price on 49 years of rent has dropped from $23.8 million to $14.5 million, or $37k a month. Seriously, people, we just ran some comps on Craigslist, and unless there's some more fancy Upper East Side math involved here (our accountants are crunching those tax numbers as we speak) that sounds like a sta-eel.
UPDATE: Goddamn this house. A reader writes, "I think you got it wrong. Costs to occupy are an upfront payment of $14.5 million PLUS $37,500 a month, or total occupancy costs of $37,500 plus $24,660 ($14.5 / 588 months) or $62,160 per month. For 12,000 square feet that's a little over $5/sqft/mo or $60 a year which isn't bad. I just wonder how you get your $14.5 million back if you need to move or perhaps die before the 49 years are up." If we had $2.95, we'd totally go back and re-read that Observer piece again.
· Listing: 926 Fifth Ave. [Stribling]
· Fifth Avenue Townhouse Suddenly $45 Mil [Curbed]