Million Dollar Listing New York S4E08: Penthouse Party

It's Season 4 of Million Dollar Listing New York, where three brokers, Fredrik Eklund, Luis Ortiz, and Ryan Serhant, show the world what it takes to sell high-priced New York City apartments. Check in each week for recaps by Angela Bunt. Episode air date: 6/03/2015.

[The vacation home in Åre, Sweden. Photo via Bravo.]

We meet up with Freddy in the same situation as we left him last week: on the hunt for some eggs so he and Derek can be dads. At his listing party at the ski vacation in Åre, Sweden, Freddy has just reunited with his Swedish besty Anna, the woman who he feels is their last hope for a donation. Fredrik is blindsided that she now has a boyfriend, and keeps shooting concerned, totally awkward (and noticeable) looks to Derek as the foursome share pleasantries. Will her new man get in the way of their impending request? No time for worrying now, Fredrik has a house to sell.

Up next: Luis. He's on his way to 300 East 90th Street to meet with client Garin, a millionaire who earned his fortune as a real estate developer in South Africa at age 22. I know, right? Garin and his family are moving out of their penthouse triplex and into... the suburbs of Connecticut. *facepalm* Please god, anything but Connecticut. That state is a stain on all of New England! The triplex in question is completely gorgeous, with two fireplaces, four bedrooms and two-and-a-half bathrooms, and a 1,500-square-foot roof deck with 360-degree views. The only issue with the property is one of the showers. It's completely plated in gold from its previous owner—drumroll, please—Star Jones. So, I guess you could say that Star Jones loves golden showers. (So many jokes, not enough time.)

[In this extra clip, not shown in the episode, Luis talks about his favorite parts of the triplex.]

Regardless of kinky shower business, at $2.995 million, this apartment is a steal. Scorned by a previous broker, Garin asks Luis if he will be the one directly involved in the sale of the penthouse, and Luis insists: "I have no girlfriend, I have no friends, I have no family here in New York City. I dedicate my entire life to my job." Bummer, dude.

Ryan and our homegirl Olivia (aka his assistant-turned-broker) are tag-teaming a listing at the Renwick Modern in West Soho. It's an up-and-coming area, and according to Ryan this new building (which has a rather long history) is "totally transforming the neighborhood." Or totally ruining it, depending on how tired you are of luxury apartments forcing small businesses to close. They meet with developer Michael to view two penthouses.

[Penthouse 1 of 22 Renwick. Photo via Bravo.]

Penthouse 1 is another triplex, with four bedrooms, two-and-a-half bathrooms, floor-to-ceiling windows, and more carrera marble! Penthouse 3 is a single-floor unit, with 1,980 square feet, three bedrooms, two-and-a-half bathrooms, and a master bedroom with a private terrace. Michael initially wants $6.5 million for the first penthouse, and Olivia talks him down to $6.335 million; they all agree that penthouse three should be listed at $4 million "and not a penny more," says Olivia.

[Luis's listing at 300 East 90th Street.]

As Luis predicted, all it took was a few new apartment photos and better marketing to spark interest on Garin's Upper East Side digs. Several brokers come for viewings, but one sticks out: Richard Hamilton, a very well known broker in the city with around 25 years of professional experience. He thinks the triplex is a perfect fit for his buyer, and that she may even be into the golden shower. Well, she should at least try it once. Without much fanfare, they both agree on the $2.995 million price point, and he says he'll get her over for a showing ASAP. It's all going a little too well, don't ya' think?

[Penthouse 1 of 22 Renwick.]

Olivia and Ryan meet to discuss their penthouse listings at 22 Renwick. Olivia is going to take penthouse 1 (the $6.35 million one), and Ryan is going to take penthouse 3. To spice things up a bit, Olivia makes Ryan take a bet: if she gets a buyer first, he has to dress up in a bunny suit and be her assistant for the day. If he gets a buyer first, Olivia has to jump in the Hudson River. Thaaaat's absolutely disgusting.

Back in Åre, potential buyer Helene is taking Fredrik up on his offer to go dog sledding. He's trying to woo her into buying the cabin, and it's working. The dogs bring them to Åre Lake (which basically looks like another big field of snow) and Fredrik asks her what's in her heart. She says she loves the house, but $11.5 million is her maximum. Fredrik tells her that his developers absolutely insist on full-ask, and he somehow convinces her to come up by $200,000. Then they awkwardly wrestle in the snow and for a moment there it seems like they might make out. Wait a second... maybe he should ask Helene to donate her eggs!

Back in Luis Land, things are going a bit too smoothly with the triplex. Richard Hamilton loved the apartment, his client loved the apartment, and he's already contacted Luis with an initial offer of $2.75 million. Garin's magic number is $2.9M, so Luis and Richard play best-and-final-offer tango before his client agrees on the amount. "We have a deal, papa!" Luis says to Richard. Now maybe one last golden shower for the road?

[Penthouse 3, before Olivia stole the furniture.]

Ryan makes his way to penthouse three at 22 Renwick to examine the digs. But upon arrival he is shocked to see that all the furniture is missing. He calls Olivia who nonchalantly tells him she moved it upstairs to penthouse 1, as she's had multiple showings already and he's had none. Ryan, shaken to his core by her brass cojones, wonders if he's created a monster. "Do you want me to sell penthouse one or not?" Olivia asks. In that moment, Ryan realizes that their playful bet isn't so playful after all. It's time to get serious.

Fredrik may have sold the Åre home at full-ask, but he still has one more deal to close. It's time to pop the question to Anna about the possibility of her donating eggs to him and Derek. A clearly emotional Fredrik tells Anna that while he's "sooo happy" for her and her new bae, he can't help but ask her one last time if she'll consider giving them her you-know-whats. Anna regretfully tells them that she's given it a lot of thought, but it just doesn't feel right at this point in her life. Derek, the voice of reason, says, "We've built our hopes up around you, and that's not to make you feel bad," meanwhile Fredrik is straight up balling his eyes out. "Everything happens for a reason," he continues. Ugh, this is more awkward than that last time Freddy and Derek asked a woman for their eggs, and she said no.

It's been three days since Luis and Ronita drew up a contract for the Upper East Side triplex, and Richard Hamilton is nowhere to be found. Although he told Luis he wanted to move fast on the deal, for some reason he's not picking up his phone and the contract remains unsigned. Ah-ha! I knew it was too good to be true! Wait a second, just had another thought: what if Freddy asks Ronita for her eggs?

[Inside 79 Horatio Street]

Finally! The construction on the townhouse at 79 Horatio Street is complete, and the high-end finishes picked out by Freddy have been implemented. The place looks stunning, with accordion doors, rustic oak floors, and marble-wrapped fireplaces. Throw in an awesome his/her's duel bathroom, and Fredrik is confident that he can get top dollar for the crib. In case you forgot, in this case "top dollar" means $22.5 million. With just 45 days left on the listing, it's time to start selling. Only this time, Freddy won't have to make guests use viewfinders to see the finished product.

Luis and Ronita have been stalking Rich Hamilton for the last week, and still no word. Has anybody been sent to his house? Do we even know if he's alive anymore? The guy is clearly dodging their phone calls, which most likely means the deal isn't going to go through. Luis calls Garin to deliver the bad news, and a frustrated Garin says he wants to just take it off the market, and they'll just live there for a few more years. Sounds nice enough to me! Even though the situation isn't Luis's fault, it's still his reputation on the line, and he convinces Garin to let him re-market it once more. Third time's a charm, right?

[Penthouse 1, after Olivia took Ryan's furniture.[

It's a showdown between Ryan and Olivia at 22 Renwick. Olivia is hosting an open house for penthouse 1, and Ryan is there to "help." And to possibly steal some of her party guests. He says, "Olivia 'borrowed' my staging, so I'm going to 'borrow' some clients." All is fair in love and real estate! Ryan tours folks through the empty apartment, telling them, "I took all the furniture out so you could see how big it is." His tactic is working, and he has several interested brokers with, hopefully, interested buyers. All the while Olivia is upstairs trying to sling stackable washer/dryers and outdoor space to anybody who will listen.

Because they've been so busy at work lately, Ryan invites Emilia to the open house to come hang out. But when she gets there, he has other plans. He immediately takes her to penthouse 3, going into broker mode and emphasizing the large closets and private terrace off the master. "I think someone could do a lot with it," he says. "What do you think about living here?" Oh shit, plot twist! Ryan says he wants to build a home with Emilia, and that the apartment has plenty of room for their little "puffer munkins." Oh my god, Ryan. I wish I could show you footage of yourself from season one. Now that he has the okay from Emilia, I guess he officially won his bet with Olivia. But... something tells me we're going to get to see Ryan in a bunny suit next week. Here's hoping.
· Million Dollar Listing New York [Bravo]
· All Million Dollar Listing coverage [Curbed]