- Year built
- 1988
- Type
- Condominium
- Units
- 79
- Floors
- 22
- Pets
- Permitted under condominium rules
- Subletting
- Permitted under the condominium declaration
- Pied-à-terre
- Allowed
Every recorded sale at this building, 2003–2026
Price-per-square-foot over time, the line- and floor-premium curves, and every recorded sale.
- Median $/sf (floor-adjusted)
- $1,065
- Listing discount
- 2.9%
- Recorded sales
- 107
- On record
- 2003–2026
Own an apartment here? See what it would sell for.
A Private Pricing Opinion — what your apartment at L'Isola would likely sell for today, what it costs to sell, and what you’d walk away with — reviewed personally against condition, exposures, renovation quality, and the competition actually on the market.
L'Isola is one of the more distinctive late-1980s condominiums in Murray Hill. Where most of the corridor's postwar inventory reads as plain brick, this 22-story tower sets itself back from the street behind a fenced plaza with a fountain, and its three-story rusticated limestone base — crowned by a large arched circular window over the canopied entrance — gives it an architectural presence that the surrounding blocks lack. The building carries only four apartments per floor, which produces a low-density, quiet residential feel unusual for a tower of its height.
For buyers, the appeal is a full-service condominium at a Murray Hill price point: 24-hour doorman coverage, a fitness center with sauna, and a landscaped rear garden with a grill, all one block from the 6 train at 33rd Street and within walking distance of Grand Central. The condominium structure means the flexibility that co-op buyers in the corridor go without — pied-à-terre use, investment ownership, and subletting are all workable under the declaration.
Architecture and unit composition
The tower rises 22 stories in light red brick, with curved balconies distributed across the facade and a three-story limestone base that reads as a deliberate architectural gesture rather than a utilitarian entrance. The circular arched window over the doorway is the building's signature detail.
With four apartments per floor across roughly 79 residential units, layouts run from studios through two-bedrooms.
Building operations
L'Isola operates as a full-service condominium with 24-hour doorman and concierge coverage, a live-in superintendent, a fitness center with sauna, a second-floor laundry room, a landscaped rear garden with a grill, a resident library, and private storage. The lobby and elevators have been renovated. There is no on-site garage and no roof deck. Local Law 11 facade work has been completed and the associated assessment paid — a point worth confirming as fully resolved during due diligence.
Facade safety — Local Law 11
The latest available filing classified the facade as SWARMP — Safe With A Repair and Maintenance Program: the engineer identified conditions requiring monitoring or repair, with repairs due by the deadline stated in the filing. The scope, timeline, and how the building funds the work are building-specific — we review the filings and board materials for you.
How to read this, and where it comes from
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. City record last verified September 2026.
Management & transfer contacts
- Notable fees
- Min Down Payment: 10%
Recent sales
157 East 32nd Street trades as a mid-market Murray Hill condominium, with the building's amenity package and set-back plaza supporting values relative to plainer neighbors. Within the building, floor, exposure, and layout set the spread between apartments. The four-per-floor density and full-service staffing are the building's durable selling points.
Unit-level transaction history is maintained in The Roebling Research Library and shared with clients during diligence.
Recent closings at this building, from The Roebling Research Library. Prices are the transfer amounts recorded with the NYC Department of Finance; apartment-level detail is checked against the building’s own file in The Roebling Research Library before publishing.
| Date | Unit | Apartment | Price | PPSF | vs. Ask |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 14, 2026 | 3E | 1 BA · 500 sf | $519,000 | $1,038/sf | -17.5% |
| Apr 22, 2026 | 8B | 2 BR · 2 BA · 904 sf | $995,000 | $1,101/sf | -2.9% |
| Jul 11, 2025 | 8A | 1 BR · 1 BA · 647 sf | $725,000 | $1,121/sf | -7.6% |
| May 21, 2025 | 11D | 1 BA · 496 sf | $595,000 | $1,200/sf | -3.3% |
| Nov 4, 2024 | 12A | 1 BR · 1 BA · 650 sf | $865,000 | $1,331/sf | +0.0% |
| Aug 5, 2024 | 11D | 1 BA · 500 sf | $550,000 | $1,100/sf | -15.3% |
| Jul 26, 2023 | 16C | 1 BR · 1 BA · 521 sf | $599,000 | $1,150/sf | +0.0% |
| Feb 23, 2023 | 11BC | 3 BR · 2.5 BA · 1,500 sf | $2,200,000 | $1,467/sf | -12.0% |
Market read. Most recent trades (2026) cleared a median $1,065/sf (floor-adjusted) across 2 sales. Floor-adjusted means each sale is restated to a constant mix of floors, so the figure can differ from the plain median of the sales listed above. Median listing discount 2.9% 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.
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 1-00888-7501). Apartment-level facts (line, condition, asking-price context) curated and cross-verified in The Roebling Research Library. Not all transactions cross-verify with ACRIS records — sponsor and LLC purchases sometimes record at stipulated values rather than market price; square footage from recorded condo declarations and offering plans.
Closed rents at L'Isola, last 36 months
| Size | Leases | Median / month |
|---|---|---|
| Studio | 5 | $3,200 |
| 2 bedroom | 4 | $6,825 |
9 closed leases, October 2023 to September 2026. Most recent lease September 2026. Sizes with fewer than 2 leases are not shown. Compiled by The Roebling Team at Compass from closed leases.
At the recent median sale of $725K (5 sales since 2024), a buyer putting 25% down would pay about $28,608 to close, or 3.9% of the price.
- Mansion tax: $0
- Mortgage recording tax: $10,467
- Title insurance: $3,262
- Attorneys, lender, building fees, reserves and filings: $14,879
Assumes a resale (the seller pays transfer taxes), a $4,500 attorney fee and a mortgage on the rest.
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What to know if you’re buying
Condo flexibility is real. Pied-à-terre use, investment ownership, and subletting are all permitted under the declaration — a meaningful contrast to the co-op-heavy Murray Hill market.
Confirm the facade assessment status. Local Law 11 work has been completed and the assessment paid; confirm there is no active or pending capital assessment at offer stage.
Model the full carry. Common charges plus property taxes plus utilities — run the complete monthly number before committing.
Mansion tax may apply on larger units. Two-bedroom pricing can approach the $1M+ range; run the Mansion Tax Calculator where relevant.
What to know if you’re selling
The plaza and architecture are part of the story. The set-back fountain plaza and limestone base differentiate the building — market them.
Full-service staffing supports pricing. 24-hour doorman coverage at a Murray Hill price point is a genuine advantage over walk-up and part-time-staff competitors.
Closing timelines are condo-fast. 30–45 days from contract to closing.
Comparable buildings
If you're considering 157 East 32nd Street, also evaluate:
- 111 East 30th Street (The Pierpont) — Birnbaum 1984; full-service NoMad/Murray Hill condo with roof deck
- 150 East 27th Street (Gotham House) — 1960 co-op with parking, low carry
- 335 East 51st Street — 1963 Midtown East condo with garage
- 685 Second Avenue (The Hendrik House) — 1942 Murray Hill prewar co-op
More Kips Bay buildings
- 111 East 30th Street (The Pierpont) — 1984 condominium by Philip Birnbaum & Associates
- 150 East 27th Street (Gotham House) — 1960 co-op
- 205 East 24th Street — co-op
- 208 East 28th Street — 1940 co-op
- 248 East 31st Street — 1925 condominium
- 303 East 33rd Street — 2009 condominium by Perkins Eastman
The neighborhood
For the full neighborhood — its buildings, character, and market — read The Roebling Team Guide to Kips Bay.
How to read the facts on this page. Items attributed to an offering plan describe the building as it was offered at that filing — unit mix, square footage, the amenity program as planned. They are not a statement about how the building operates today. Tax and compliance figures are sourced separately to current City records and carry their own dates. House rules, staffing and fee policy can change by board resolution without any public filing: treat every policy line here as a starting point for diligence and confirm it with the managing agent. Where this page compares one building or neighborhood to another, that is our analysis of the recorded record — it names the measure, the period and the sample it rests on, and it is an observation about medians rather than a prediction about any particular apartment.
Considering a move at L'Isola?
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