In today’s real estate market, it looks like everyone seems to be having a tough time. Even billionaire media mogul and owner Rupert Murdoch is struggling – but unlike young, aspiring homebuyers who cannot afford to interrupt right into a real estate market characterised by high mortgage rates and house prices.
In fact, Murdoch’s Manhattan penthouse was listed at such a high price that he and his agent had to cut back the worth by almost 40%, from $62 million to $38.5 million.
“The revised price reflects current reality and is more in line with the market value of the residence,” says Kyle Blackmon, head of luxury sales at Compass Assets. Murdoch didn’t reply to requests for comment. The triplex was first launched in 2022 by News Corp. Chairman Emeritus. listed for $62 million and has seen several price cuts since then.
At the present listing price, Murdoch will take a loss on the property since he bought it in 2014 for $57.9 million, in response to a Wall Street Journal report. For comparison: The average house price in Manhattan is around $1 million The latest data from Redfin. Murdoch (and his family) have one estimated net price of virtually $21 billion Forbes, After constructing a media empire that features Fox News Times of London, and that Wall Street Journal. Murdoch stepped down as chairman in September 2023.
About Murdoch’s sky-high Manhattan mansion
The luxury triplex is about 7,000 square meters in size – greater than double Size of a mean American house. It features 20-foot ceilings, “massive art walls” and a 586-square-foot terrace, all features that “create real scarcity value,” Blackmon says.
While the penthouse positioned at the highest of One Madison in Manhattan is undoubtedly unique, the property’s price point attracts a really area of interest group of interested buyers.
“Selling ultra-luxury properties is challenging due to the limited buyer pool in these price ranges,” says Noah Rosenblatt, co-founder of the New York City-based real estate analytics firm UrbanDigstold Assets. “These unique trophy homes are more akin to the art market than the real estate market, with value determined primarily by a potential buyer’s perception.”
Even Blackmon agrees that the property is so unique that it should likely sell to a really specific buyer.
“We will be selling this residence and the buyer, who will likely be an art collector, will secure exceptional value for this important and rare offering,” says Blackmon. “That’s the equivalent of a [Jean-Michel] Basquiat oil painting, a value that cannot be reproduced in this location. Apartments of this size and importance are being sold for twice the price in several buildings in the city.”
While price drops can sometimes indicate that a property was overpriced to start with, Rosenblatt says these changes are relatively normal in the luxurious real estate market.
“Contrary to popular belief, luxury real estate is rarely overpriced,” says Rosenblatt. “Astronomical list prices serve to confirm the property’s luxury status and signal its availability, making the starting price a strategic tool rather than a simple market assessment – an invitation rather than a statement.”
In other words, original list prices serve to mark properties as extremely luxurious, and price reductions get more buyers to take into consideration actually purchasing the property, Rosenblatt says.
“From the outside it looks like the seller is chasing the market, [but] These price cuts can be more accurately described as an attempt to achieve market adjustment,” says Rosenblatt. “The challenges [with selling the property] “highlight the volatility of the ultra-luxury market, driven by unique buyer preferences rather than traditional market forces, and highlight the ever-evolving definition of “trophy” real estate in NYC’s robust ultra-luxury segment.”
