- Year built
- 1925
- Type
- Cooperative
- Landmark
- No
Every recorded sale at this building, 2003–2025
Bedroom-by-bedroom medians, the full transfer record, and how units trade against ask.
- Recent range
- $3.3M – $3.7M
- Listing discount
- 4.8%
- Recorded transfers
- 16
1040 Madison Avenue is a rare thing: a small, full-service pre-war cooperative perched at the very heart of the Madison Avenue gallery-and-boutique corridor, a block from Central Park and minutes from the Metropolitan Museum and Museum Mile. Built in 1925 over a ground-floor retail base, it puts a handful of large residences directly above one of the most prestigious shopping and art-dealing stretches in the world — an address that buys both location and discretion.
What sets the building apart is its scale relative to its size. With just 18 apartments across 14 stories, it lives like a collection of private floors rather than a conventional apartment house. The residences are grandly proportioned, with high ceilings, generous rooms, and the architectural detail of mid-1920s construction — the kind of homes that draw collectors and discerning Upper East Side buyers who want pre-war grandeur without a large, impersonal building.
For a buyer who values the Madison Avenue address, proximity to the park and museums, and a boutique full-service co-op, 1040 Madison occupies a specific and coveted niche.
Architecture and unit composition
The building is a 1925 pre-war apartment house above a Madison Avenue retail base — a configuration common to the avenue's commercial blocks, where ground-floor galleries and boutiques sit beneath residential floors. Rising 14 stories on a relatively small footprint, it holds only 18 apartments, which means low density per floor and the privacy that comes with it.
The residences are the draw: grandly scaled rooms, high ceilings, and the architectural detail of the era, in layouts large enough that the building reads as a stack of substantial homes. Many apartments have been finished to a high collector-grade standard over the years. The combination of pre-war proportion and boutique scale is exactly what buyers at this end of the market seek.
Building operations
1040 Madison is a full-service boutique cooperative. A full-time doorman staffs the entrance, and shareholders have access to a bicycle room and private storage. The small unit count produces attentive, personal management and a tight-knit shareholder community — the operating profile of an exclusive small building rather than a large institution.
The co-op's policies are clearly defined: it permits pets, allows pieds-à-terre, and permits washer/dryers in apartments — a meaningful convenience in a pre-war building. Subletting is permitted with board approval, and there is a 2% flip tax paid by the purchaser on resale. Purchases proceed through a standard board application and interview. The flexibility on pets, pieds-à-terre, and in-unit laundry makes the building accommodating by pre-war standards.
Local Law 97
- 2024–2029 annual penalty
- $0 (under cap)
- 2030–2034 annual penalty
- $7,239/yr
- Per unit / month range
- $0 – $34
Facade safety — Local Law 11
Safe to live in today — but the last inspection flagged repairs that are due on a deadline, so facade work and its cost are coming. Whether that’s a real concern depends on the scope, the timing, and how the building plans to pay for it — reserves or an assessment — which is exactly what we’d dig into for you.
QEWI = Qualified Exterior Wall Inspector — the licensed engineer the city requires to sign the report (the independent expert, not the managing agent). Source: NYC DOB facade filings (FISP) · The Roebling Research Library.
See the full facade history →Recent sales
Recent transfers at this building, curated by The Roebling Team research desk. Apartment-level facts are independently verified before publishing; sale prices reflect the recorded transfer amount at the NYC Department of Finance.
| Date | Unit | Apartment | Price | PPSF | vs. Ask |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 22, 2025 | 10E | 3 BR · 3 BA | $3,700,000 | -7.5% | |
| Jul 27, 2023 | 5E | 2 BR · 2.5 BA | $3,335,000 | -4.7% | |
| Sep 29, 2021 | 12E | 3 BR · 3 BA | $3,500,000 | -4.1% | |
| May 25, 2021 | 9E | 3 BR · 3 BA | $3,335,000 | -3.3% | |
| Jun 22, 2017 | 6E | 2 BR · 2 BA · 2,200 sf | $3,800,000 | $1,727/sf | -4.8% |
| Jun 21, 2012 | 1/2W | 2 BR · 2,000 sf | $1,600,000 | $800/sf | -8.6% |
| Jul 28, 2010 | 9/10/11W | 4 BR | $7,000,000 | -2.8% | |
| Dec 23, 2009 | 4E | 2 BR | $3,490,000 | -5.7% |
Market read. Most recent trades (2017) cleared a median $1,727/sf across 1 sale. Median listing discount 4.8% from the last ask — a recurring negotiation gap worth pricing into any offer or listing strategy.
The retrade record
Lines that have traded more than once in the public record — the building’s appreciation arc, apartment by apartment.
Other recent transfers
| Date | Unit | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Jan 18, 2022 | 11E | $3,200,000 |
| Jun 4, 2021 | 7E | $4,000,000 |
| Dec 29, 2009 | 9E | $3,995,000 |
| Dec 16, 2009 | 7A | $2,995,000 |
| Dec 15, 2009 | 7E | $2,900,000 |
| Feb 15, 2006 | 9E | $3,250,000 |
Full closing history with price-per-square-foot over time, the complete retrade record, and every line that has traded.
Sales sourced from NYC Department of Finance recorded transfers (BBL 1-01491-0016) and verified listing data. Apartment-level facts (line, condition, asking-price context) curated and cross-verified by The Roebling Team research desk. Not all transactions cross-verify with ACRIS records — sponsor and LLC purchases sometimes record at stipulated values rather than market price; square footage on co-ops is not officially recorded, figures shown are approximate.
What to know if you’re buying
This is a buy for the address, the scale, and the boutique service. A large, high-ceilinged pre-war home directly on the Madison gallery corridor, a block from the park and museums, is a scarce product, and the 18-unit count means privacy and a personal building. Confirm the exact layout, exposure, and finish level, and weigh the fact that residences sit above ground-floor retail.
The policy posture is accommodating: pets, pieds-à-terre, in-unit washer/dryers, and board-approved sublets are all permitted. Budget the 2% buyer-paid flip tax into your acquisition costs, since it applies at purchase, and prepare a thorough board package — small, exclusive co-ops underwrite carefully. For a part-time buyer or a collector, the combination of flexibility and location is the core of the value.
What to know if you’re selling
Lead with the address and the scale. A large pre-war residence on the Madison Avenue gallery corridor, a block from Central Park and the Met, in an 18-unit boutique co-op, is a description that sells itself to the high-end Upper East Side buyer. The washer/dryer, pied-à-terre, and pet flexibility broaden that pool further.
Scarcity is decisively on the seller's side: with so few apartments and such rare turnover, qualified buyers for this address often have no alternative in the building. Price to the specific home — scale, ceiling height, exposure, and finish — rather than a generic per-foot figure, and make the buyer-paid flip tax clear up front. Prepare the board package early so a careful application clears cleanly.
Comparable buildings
If you're considering 1040 Madison Avenue, these nearby Madison and East Side cooperatives belong on the same shortlist:
- 1033 Madison Avenue — Madison Avenue cooperative nearby
- 1095 Madison Avenue — pre-war Madison Avenue co-op
- 1115 Madison Avenue — Madison Avenue cooperative to the north
- 10 East 70th Street — pre-war co-op on the Frick block
- 133 East 80th Street — classic pre-war side-street cooperative
The Roebling Team at 1040 Madison Avenue
The Roebling Team at Compass specializes in the Madison and Fifth Avenue corridor, the Museum Mile blocks, and the broader pre-war Upper East Side cooperative market. We publish this profile because a building this exclusive and rarely traded demands building-level intelligence — the scale of its residences, its accommodating policy posture, and how to price a home in a boutique Madison Avenue co-op.
If you're considering a purchase or sale at 1040 Madison Avenue, a 30-minute consultation is the right starting point.
Get the full picture on this building.
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