Why billionaire Rupert Murdoch can’t promote his Manhattan penthouse

Certainly, Murdoch’s Manhattan penthouse was listed at such a excessive value, that he and his agent have needed to minimize the value by almost 40% from $62 million to $38.5 million.

“The revised price reflects current realities and is closer to where the market values the residence,” Kyle Blackmon, head of luxurious gross sales at Compass, tells Fortune. Murdoch didn’t reply to requests for remark. The triplex was first listed by the News Corp. chairman emeritus for $62 million in 2022, and has since endured a number of value cuts. 

On the present checklist value, Murdoch will take a loss on the property, since he bought it for $57.9 million in 2014, in accordance with a Wall Avenue Journal report. For comparability, the typical dwelling value in Manhattan is about $1 million, in accordance with Redfin’s most recent data. Murdoch (and his household) have an estimated net worth of almost $21 billion, in accordance with Forbes, having constructed a media empire that features Fox Information, the Instances of London, and the Wall Avenue Journal. Murdoch stepped down as chairman in September 2023.

About Murdoch’s sky-high Manhattan mansion

The posh triplex is roughly 7,000 sq. toes—greater than twice the size of the average American home. It boasts 20-foot ceilings, “massive art walls,” and a 586-square-foot terrace, that are options that “create true scarcity value,” Blackmon says. 

Whereas the penthouse, which sits on the pinnacle of One Madison in Manhattan, is undoubtedly considered one of a form, the value of the property attracts a really area of interest set of patrons. 

“Ultra-luxury property sales are challenging due to the limited buyer pool at these price points,” Noah Rosenblatt, cofounder of New York Metropolis–based mostly actual property analytics firm UrbanDigs, tells Fortune. “These unique trophy homes are more akin to the art market than the real estate market, with value determined mainly by a potential buyer’s perception.”

Even Blackmon agrees that the property is so distinctive that it’ll seemingly promote to a really particular purchaser.

“We will sell this residence, and the buyer, who will likely be an art collector, will secure an exceptional value for this important and rare offering,” Blackmon says. “This is the equivalent of a [Jean-Michel] Basquiat oil painting, an asset that can’t be replicated in this location. Residences of this size and importance are selling for twice as much in several buildings in the city.”

Whereas value cuts can generally sign {that a} property was overpriced to start with, Rosenblatt says these adjustments are comparatively regular within the luxurious actual property market. 

“Contrary to popular thinking, ultra-luxury listings are rarely overpriced,” Rosenblatt says. “Astronomical listing prices serve to affirm the property’s luxury status and signal its availability, making the initial price a strategic tool rather than a straightforward market assessment—an invitation more than a statement.”

In different phrases, authentic checklist costs serve to mark properties as being ultra-luxury, and value cuts deliver extra patrons to the dialog of really shopping for the property, Rosenblatt says.

“From the outside, it looks like the seller is chasing the market down, [but] these price reductions are more aptly described as trying to achieve market fit,” Rosenblatt says. “The challenges [with selling the property] highlight the ultra-luxury market’s volatility, driven by unique buyer preferences rather than traditional market forces, and underscore the ever-evolving definition of ‘trophy’ properties in NYC’s resilient ultra-luxury segment.”

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