The rental market has been surging around the country, as more Americans opt to rent rather than buy. In New York City, a metropolis notorious for its lack of home affordability, Manhattan rent prices have jumped 5% since January of last year, with an average monthly price of $3,352 being paid, according to Citi Habitats. While that monthly sum may seem steep, one Big Apple rental has just hit the market that makes three grand seem like a pittance.  On Valentine’s Day, 247 Central Park West debuted as a rental on the Manhattan market, asking a staggering $110,000 per month. The townhouse sits on what is perhaps Manhattan’s most billionaire-centric avenue, Central Park West. It is one of the last remaining single-family houses situated on Central Park’s western border.  Wealthy prospective renters get 12,270 square feet of living space spread across six stories, overlooking Central Park. The urban manse, built by architect Edward J. Angell in 1887, comes with five bedrooms and eight bathrooms. An entire floor is dedicated to the master suite which touts his-and-her dressing areas and doors that open out onto a limestone terrace. Among the home’s flashier amenities are two wood-paneled home offices, a media room sporting seven reclining massage chairs, and a massive parlor crowned with a domed skylight. The finished basement boasts a 60 foot lap pool and a fitness center.  “It’s a 13,000 square foot house with views of Central Park. The reality is there is only one other townhouse that has that capability,” says Matthew Lesser, a vice president at Leslie J. Garfield & Co. and the townhouse’s listing agent. “So the uniqueness of the house grants an asking price that is greater than your average home.”  The Upper West Side mansion now graces the rental market because the owner lives abroad and doesn’t plan to occupy the grand house for several years yet. The owner, whom Lesser declines to name (and whose identity is not readily available in public records), purchased the townhouse less than two months ago, closing officially on the property in January for $22.38 million. Despite the fact that that sales price was about 30% less than the initial 2010 listing price of $32 million, it has broken records as the most expensive sale in the tony Upper West Side neighborhood. Bought from Keith Monda, the former president of luxury handbag designer Coach, Lesser represented the new mystery owner as the buyer’s agent.  According to Lesser, the plan is to rent the property out for one to two years. He says a market exists for ultra high-end rentals like this, noting the house has already been quietly shown several times in the past two weeks. “It’s a shorter term deal and there is no equity involved [as compared to buying], but I deal with plenty of wealthy individuals who… just want to write a check,” explains Lesser, adding that celebrities and entertainment business executives who come to New York for projects represent one demographic for lavish rentals.  Located in one of America’s most expensive ZIP codes (10024), 247 CPW is now New York City’s second most expensive home for rent. Its asking price is trumped only by the $165,000-per-moth Astor Suite apartment in the Plaza Hotel, located on the southwest corner of Central Park. The $110,000 listing is the third rental in the past three months to hit the Manhattan market with a six figure price tag.  The townhouse shares Central Park West with 15 Central Park West (located about a mile south on the avenue), where the record-breaking Weill penthouse apartment was recently sold to 22-year old Ekatarina Rybolovleva, daughter of Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev, for the full $88 million asking price. That sale became final just yesterday.  Lesser represents many a high-rolling client, including one billionaire who recently offered us an exclusive tour of his multi-million dollar mansion. Stayed tuned for that.
A recently sold townhouse on Manhattan's Upper West Side hits the rental market peddling coveted Central Park views, an indoor pool, and a six-figure monthly price tag.