Developers quietly cut condo prices for celebrities
New York Metro Real Estate News
Developers quietly cut condo prices for celebrities
Categories: MultiFamily/Co-op/Condo, Location, U.S., Manhattan, 479 wordsSend feedback •At the Meridian, a condominium tower that opened last month on New York's Long Island, the asking price for two-bedroom units on a high floor with beach views is $1.8 million.
Unless you're Billy Crystal.
The actor, who grew up on Long Island, has been offered one of those two-bedrooms for $1.6 million. The offerer: the building's marketing agent, who thinks Mr. Crystal's name would help to sell units.
In the case of Cipriani Club Residences at 55 Wall Street, luxury condos in New York City slated to open next fall, the celebrities who've allowed their names to be attached to the project are the model Ms. Campbell, actor Mr. Rourke and Margherita Missoni, daughter of the Italian knitwear family.
During an industry preview party of the building in September, co-developer Guiseppe Cipriani touted the building's amenities, including a wine cellar, 24-hour concierge service -- and the trio of famous faces as future neighbors. "They are my friends, and they are moving here," he said, as marketing agents handed out promotional brochures. In one photo, Mr. Cipriani is shown holding a cocktail shaker, standing next to Ms. Campbell, who is wearing a low-cut dress. In another, Mr. Rourke is shown smoking with friends; Ms. Missoni is pictured with a man's head cradled in her lap. Ads using some of the images have run in Vanity Fair and the New York Times Magazine.
All three received a discount in exchange for allowing the use of their photos in the promotions, says Mr. Cipriani, declining to be be more specific. Ms. Campbell's publicist, Rob Shuter, says her modeling fee was deducted from the condo cost. He wouldn't say how much was deducted or how much she paid for her unit. Publicists for Mr. Rourke and Ms. Missoni didn't return phone calls seeking comment.
While modern-day condo developers have jumped on the celebrity discount as a sales tool, the practice goes back almost 100 years, or more. According to author Steven Gaines, in 1912, developer Douglas Elliman (who started the eponymous New York brokerage firm) gave Nobel Peace Prize winner Elihu Root about 50 percent off the rent to move into 998 Fifth Avenue, one of the city's first fancy apartment buildings. More recently, Donald Trump says he gave Johnny Carson a discount on an apartment in Trump Tower in 1983 "because it was good for the building."
But with increasing competition in the luxury-condo market, developers are looking sell their projects as quickly as possible. According to the National Association of Home Buyers, condos account for 35 percent of all new home construction in the U.S. this year, up from 20 percent in 1998. At the same time, condo prices are rising quickly, with the median price reaching a record $221,700 in June, up 14 percent from a year earlier, according to the National Association of Realtors.
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