Jeffrey Epstein’s Manhattan mansion, which the U.S. government is trying to seize after his arrest on child sex charges, could sell for as much as $100 million. At least that’s what a wealthy investor suggested offering for it about two years ago.
Epstein agreed to let townhouse broker Jed Garfield bring a client to see the 50-foot-wide limestone mansion on East 71st Street, near Central Park. Occasionally, he’ll have a client who’s searching for something opulent with grand spaces for entertaining. Epstein’s home wasn’t listed for sale, but it was one of the few options that fit the bill.
“I don’t think he was ever serious about selling it,” said Garfield, president at brokerage Leslie J. Garfield & Co. “But like most wealthy people, they like it when someone throws them a bid of ‘X.’ It tends to validate their view of the market.”
The home at 9 E. 71st St. was one of the locations where Epstein would lure underage girls and pay them to perform sex acts, according to an indictment unsealed July 8 by the government. Federal agents plan to seize the home, along with Epstein’s mansion in Florida. The government estimates the Manhattan home to have a market value of $77 million, according to a court document. New York tax authorities assessed the property at $55.93 million.
That would just be a starting point, according to some Manhattan brokers. The record price for a New York townhouse was set just last month, when financier Phil Falcone and his wife sold their East 67th Street property—also about a block from the park, with 30,000 square feet—for $77.1 million.
That’s sure to be used as a comparison when analyzing what Epstein’s property should fetch, said Dexter Guerrieri, principal of the Townhouse Experts group at Douglas Elliman Real Estate.
“When you’re right there off Fifth Avenue, with a house this size, it’s an important sale,” Guerrieri said.
Epstein was arrested at Teterboro Airport in New Jersey after he returned from France. In a court filing seeking to have him held behind bars, prosecutors cited his access to two private planes and a home overseas, along with his wealth and the steep penalty for sex trafficking.
The Upper East Side home is notable for its 50-foot width, because there are only a few that wide across Manhattan. The average width of all town homes that sold in 2018 was 20 feet, according to Miller Samuel Inc.’s and Douglas Elliman’s townhouse report.
“The holy grail for townhouses is the width—it’s much less about the square footage,” said Jonathan Miller, president of appraiser Miller Samuel. “It’s rare and there’s a premium for that.”
The house is also not in need of an extensive renovation, said Garfield. It has five floors, plus a basement and subbasement, and includes a grand staircase, 20-foot-high ceilings on the first floor and a 45-foot-wide living room, Garfield recalled from his visit.
“To get 50 feet, limestone, between Fifth and Madison—it just doesn’t exist,” Garfield said. “There are a handful of people in the world who can afford it and you need to be that one person at the right time who says, ’You know, I’m paying full price, but if I’m paying full price I’m making sure that 20 other billionaires in the world don’t own it.’”
The property, while large, probably wouldn’t attract developers considering a condo conversion, said Donna Olshan, president of luxury brokerage Olshan Realty. It wouldn’t make sense financially to carve the large-scale space into smaller units—destroying what makes it unique.
“The highest and best use is to a very rich person,” Olshan said. “Or somebody using it as an art gallery or embassy.”
There might be some temptation to underbid, given that it was the scene of alleged crimes, Guerrieri said. More likely, the prevailing buyer would have offered a top price for a piece of real estate history.
“In the end, and after a few years, it will hopefully be remembered from back to the days when it was built as one of the most important mansions in the city,” Guerrieri said. “All these houses live longer than we do. The house is not to blame for this problem.”
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