- Year built
- 1924
- Type
- Cooperative
Every recorded sale at this building, 2003–2025
Bedroom-by-bedroom medians, the full transfer record, and how units trade against ask.
- 3BR median
- $1.9M
- Recent range
- $1.2M – $2M
- Listing discount
- 5.7%
- Recorded transfers
- 31
108 East 86th Street is a handsome 1924 Italian Renaissance cooperative perched just off Park Avenue, on the bustling 86th Street spine that ties Carnegie Hill to Yorkville. Fourteen stories tall but only twenty-nine apartments deep, it is a tall, slender pre-war building — the kind that delivers generous, well-proportioned homes with relatively few neighbors per floor. It was built as a rental and converted to cooperative ownership in 1980, and it has kept both its original architectural character and a framed copy of its 1924 sales advertisement near the lobby elevator.
The pull is pre-war quality at a transit-rich crossroads. You are a half-block from the express 4/5/6 and the Q at 86th Street — among the best-connected corners on the East Side — with Park Avenue's quiet immediately to the west and Yorkville's shopping and dining to the east. For buyers who want a real pre-war apartment in a full-service building without paying Park Avenue co-op prices, 108 East 86th is squarely on target.
Architecture and unit composition
The building is a confident piece of 1920s design: an Italian Renaissance composition anchored by a three-story limestone base with intricate decorative masonry, rising as a narrow tower above. Its original advertising promised five- and six-room simplexes on the lower floors and larger duplexes above — a layout strategy still legible in the building's mix today.
With 29 residences across 14 floors, the apartments are gracious pre-war homes: high ceilings, defined rooms, and the larger duplex layouts on the upper floors that give the building its most distinctive inventory. Many units have been individually renovated over the decades while retaining their pre-war proportions and detail.
Building operations
108 East 86th runs as a full-service cooperative with a full-time doorman, an exercise room, a central laundry room, and private storage. For a building of fewer than thirty homes, that staffing and amenity package is generous, and the carrying costs are spread across a small, stable shareholder base.
The board's terms are accommodating by Upper East Side standards: financing is permitted up to 75% of the purchase price, a 2% flip tax is paid by the seller at closing, pets are welcome, and pied-à-terre purchases are allowed. That combination — full-service pre-war with flexible policies — is unusual enough to widen the building's buyer pool meaningfully.
Local Law 97
- 2024–2029 annual penalty
- $1,357/yr
- 2030–2034 annual penalty
- $44,465/yr
- Per unit / month range
- $4 – $128
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 | vs. Ask |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 23, 2025 | 14S | 3 BR · 2 BA | $1,975,000 | -5.7% |
| Feb 13, 2025 | 12N | 4 BR · 3 BA | $2,000,000 | +5.3% |
| Jan 30, 2025 | 10S | 3 BR · 2 BA | $1,920,000 | -14.7% |
| Mar 27, 2023 | 9S | 3 BR · 2 BA | $1,200,000 | +9.1% |
| Aug 25, 2021 | 11N | 3 BR · 3 BA | $1,420,000 | -32.4% |
| Jun 30, 2021 | 12S | 3 BR · 2 BA | $1,980,000 | -20.0% |
| Apr 14, 2021 | 10N | 3 BR · 3 BA | $1,745,000 | -2.5% |
| Mar 9, 2021 | 3S | 3 BR · 2 BA | $1,100,000 | -7.9% |
Market read. Most recent trades (2017) cleared a median $1,108/sf across 1 sale. Median listing discount 5.3% 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Aug 1, 2025 | 14N | $1,795,000 |
| Aug 7, 2017 | 14S | $2,215,000 |
| Sep 23, 2014 | 9N | $1,895,000 |
| Dec 23, 2013 | 12S | $1,860,000 |
| Jul 30, 2012 | 13S | $999,000 |
| Jun 19, 2007 | 6N | $575,000 |
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 1-01514-0066) 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.
What to know if you’re buying
The value case is full-service pre-war with flexible board terms at a transit hub. Financing to 75%, a pet-friendly policy, and permitted pied-à-terre ownership make this a more accessible building than many comparable pre-war co-ops — though you should still plan for a thorough board package and interview. Budget the 2% seller's flip tax into your longer-term resale math.
The lifestyle is the rest of the argument. The 4/5/6 express and the Q sit a half-block away, putting Midtown and downtown within a short ride; Central Park is a few blocks west; and 86th Street's restaurants, markets, and shopping are at the door. For buyers who prize connectivity and pre-war bones, the location is hard to beat. Note that lower-floor units face the 86th Street activity — confirm exposure and floor for the quiet you want.
What to know if you’re selling
Lead with the pre-war architecture, the full-service staffing, and the unmatched transit position — and, for the upper apartments, the duplex layouts and light. The flexible board terms (75% financing, pets, pied-à-terre) are a genuine marketing asset that broadens the buyer pool beyond the typical pre-war audience.
Price to the building's own recent trades and the comparable Carnegie Hill / Yorkville pre-war co-ops, separating the simplex and duplex inventory since they sell differently. Limited annual turnover makes accurate day-one positioning essential. We bring the building's transaction history and the live comparable set to every listing.
Comparable buildings
If you're considering 108 East 86th Street, these nearby Upper East Side cooperatives form the natural comparison set:
- 11 East 86th Street — pre-war co-op near Central Park
- 49 East 86th Street — full-service co-op on the same street
- 64 East 86th Street — pre-war cooperative nearby
- 115 East 86th Street — co-op on the 86th Street spine
- 345 East 86th Street — Yorkville cooperative to the east
The Roebling Team at 108 East 86th Street
The Roebling Team at Compass specializes in the Upper East Side, Carnegie Hill, Yorkville, and the broader park-facing Manhattan market. We publish this profile because buyers and sellers in a boutique pre-war co-op deserve building-specific intelligence — the building's architecture and unit mix, its flexible board terms, and where pricing sits against the surrounding 86th Street stock.
If you're considering a purchase or sale at 108 East 86th, a 30-minute consultation is the right starting point.
Get the full picture on this building.
Current availability including off-market, the full comp set, and the board & financials read most listings don't show.