205 East 78th Street
205 East 78th Street, New York, NY 10075
Lenox Hill, Upper East Side
BBL 1014337501 · BIN 1076312
- Year built
- 1925
- Type
- Cooperative
- Units
- 218
- Floors
- 20
- Landmark
- No
- Pets
- Permitted (pet-friendly)
- Financing
- Cooperative — minimum 25% down (maximum \~75% financing)
- Flip tax
- Reported at 2% of sale price or $20/share, whichever is greater; confirm the exact terms with the managing agent
Every recorded sale at this building, 2003–2026
Bedroom-by-bedroom medians, the full transfer record, and how units trade against ask.
- 1BR median
- $725K
- Recent range
- $320K – $2.3M
- Listing discount
- 4.1%
- Recorded transfers
- 322
Own an apartment here? See what it would sell for.
A Private Pricing Opinion — what your apartment at 205 East 78th Street 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.
205 East 78th Street is the prewar Art Deco cooperative of the corner of Third Avenue and 78th — a 20-story, late-1920s tower whose glazed terracotta ornament, geometric brickwork, setbacks, and water-tank crown mark it as a genuine Art Deco building, not a postwar box. Inside, a renovated coffered-ceiling Art Deco lobby, wood-burning fireplaces, high beamed ceilings, and windowed kitchens and baths give the apartments the character of the era. It is an accessible, character-rich ownership address on a well-connected Upper East Side corner.
Its position in the market is defined by that prewar character, the cooperative structure, and the value pricing. As a co-op, purchases run through a board — application, financials, and interview — with a minimum 25% down payment and a transfer fee, and subletting is limited. In exchange, the building offers something the postwar and new-construction stock cannot: authentic Art Deco detailing, wood-burning fireplaces, and prewar proportions, at a price point that sits well below the corridor's amenity condominiums. The board is notably flexible on the ways buyers may purchase — co-purchasing, guarantors, gifting, parents buying for children, and trusts are all permitted.
The location is the Third Avenue corner at 78th — a connected, retail-rich stretch of the Upper East Side, steps from the 6 at 77th Street, close to the Second Avenue subway's Q, the crosstown bus at 79th, and Central Park to the west.
Building operations
205 East 78th Street operates as a full-service cooperative with a lean amenity plant: a 24-hour doorman, a live-in superintendent, central laundry, private storage for rent, and a bike room. There is no garage, gym, pool, or roof deck — the building's appeal is character and location, not amenity depth. Maintenance covers electricity, heat, and hot water. Buyers should confirm the specific unit's maintenance, review the building's financial statements, reserve position, and any active assessment during diligence, and — for a building of this age — review the engineering reports and any façade or mechanical capital work with care.
Architecture and layouts
205 East 78th Street is a late-1920s Art Deco building — a brick tower with clean vertical lines, decorative geometric brickwork, colorful glazed terracotta trim, attractive setbacks, and a distinctive water-tank enclosure crown that gives the building its silhouette. The lobby, redone in an Art Deco idiom with coffered ceilings, and the renovated hallways carry the period character through the common spaces.
The 218 apartments carry the marks of their era: wood-burning fireplaces in a number of units, high beamed ceilings, hardwood floors, crown moldings, and windowed kitchens and baths, in layouts from studios through three-bedroom combinations. Because the building trades on prewar character, room count, and condition rather than on view altitude or amenity depth, a per-room and per-layout analysis — the configuration of the specific apartment, its light, its fireplace and detailing, and its renovation state — is the correct pricing basis, not a blended per-foot average.
Local Law 97
- 2024–2029 annual penalty
- $0 (under cap)
- 2030–2034 annual penalty
- $0 (under cap)
- Per unit / month range
- —
Source: NYC LL84 benchmarking and PLUTO · The Roebling Research Library. City record last verified September 2026.
See full Local Law 97 analysis — emissions history, scenarios, methodology →Facade safety — Local Law 11
The latest available FISP filing classified the facade as Safe — no repairs were required at that inspection. Facade inspections run on a fixed five-year cycle; future inspection, repair, and any assessment decisions remain building-specific.
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).
Penalties shown are amounts DOB assessed against filings on record across 2005–10 to 2020–25. The FISP dataset does not record whether they were paid, contested or remain open, so treat the figure as history rather than a current balance and confirm the building’s standing with the managing agent.
Source: NYC DOB facade filings (FISP) · The Roebling Research Library. City record last verified September 2026.
Management & transfer contacts
- Sublet policy
- Subletting is permitted after 5 years
- Pied-à-terre
- Pied a terres are welcome here
Recent sales
205 East 78th Street trades as a character-driven, value-oriented Upper East Side cooperative where prewar detailing, room count, and condition drive value rather than view altitude or amenity depth. The co-op structure narrows the buyer pool to primary and pied-à-terre purchasers who clear the board's requirements, and the limited subletting keeps investor demand modest. Recorded sales auto-populate from public records; unit-level history and current comparables are maintained in The Roebling Research Library and shared with clients during diligence. Per-room and per-layout comparables — not building-wide per-foot averages — are the correct basis.
Recent transfers 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 | vs. Ask |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 18, 2026 | 8S | 1 BA | $398,000 | -4.1% |
| Aug 26, 2026 | 18AB | 3 BR · 2 BA | $2,250,000 | -10.0% |
| Aug 17, 2026 | 7F | 1 BR · 1 BA | $750,000 | -3.2% |
| May 6, 2026 | 7K | 1 BR · 1 BA | $925,000 | +3.4% |
| Apr 14, 2026 | 20A | 1 BR · 1 BA | $815,000 | -1.2% |
| Jan 16, 2026 | 5K | 1 BR | $715,000 | -4.7% |
| Dec 12, 2025 | 9F | 1 BR · 1 BA | $749,000 | +0.0% |
| Dec 1, 2025 | 17H | 2 BR · 2 BA | $1,130,000 | -9.2% |
Market read. $/sf is measured on the latest sales with reliable square footage (2024): a median $1,148/sf (floor-adjusted) across 3 sales. The building has traded as recently as 2026. Median listing discount 2.9% from the last ask — a recurring negotiation gap worth pricing into any offer or listing strategy.
Other recent transfers
| Date | Unit | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 26, 2017 | 11T | $835,000 |
| Apr 19, 2011 | 8T | $510,000 |
| Oct 6, 2010 | 3A | $465,000 |
| Dec 10, 2009 | 9G | $245,000 |
| Dec 9, 2009 | 8S | $215,000 |
| Oct 6, 2005 | 9B | $565,000 |
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 1-01433-7501). 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.
At the recent median sale of $815K (16 transfers since 2024), a buyer putting 25% down would pay about $11,606 to close, or 1.4% of the price.
- Mansion tax: $0
- No mortgage recording tax or title insurance on a co-op purchase
- Attorneys, lender, building fees and filings: $11,606
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
Understand the co-op requirements. Expect board approval — application, financials, and an interview — a minimum 25% down payment, and a transfer fee reported at 2% of sale price or $20/share, whichever is greater (confirm the exact terms). Subletting is limited to roughly two of every ten years after about two years of owner-occupancy. The board is flexible on purchase structure: co-purchasing, guarantors, gifting, parental purchasing, and trusts are permitted.
Buy the character and the layout. The Art Deco detailing, wood-burning fireplaces, and prewar proportions are the value. Price the specific apartment's configuration, light, and condition, not a per-foot average.
Model the tax picture and carry. As a cooperative, a share of maintenance is tax-deductible; the building is eligible for the co-op/condo abatement for qualifying primary residents. Factor both into the carry. Run the True Monthly Carrying Cost Calculator.
Diligence the building. For a late-1920s co-op, review the financial statements, reserve study, board minutes, any assessment, and the engineering and façade capital picture.
What to know if you’re selling
Lead with the Art Deco character. The glazed terracotta, the water-tank crown, the coffered lobby, and the wood-burning fireplaces are the marketing headline — authentic prewar character the postwar stock can't match.
Price by layout and condition. Room count, light, fireplace, detailing, and renovation state drive value here. Comparable analysis is layout-specific, not per-foot.
Set expectations on the board and subletting. Buyers should be prepared for the co-op process, the 25% down requirement, and the limited-sublet policy; a well-prepared board package is essential.
Sell the corner location. A connected, retail-rich Third Avenue corner, steps from the 6 and the Second Avenue subway, close to the Park.
Comparable buildings
If you're considering 205 East 78th Street, also evaluate:
- The Eastmore (240 East 76th) — the flexible condop nearby; the flexible-ownership alternative
- 160 East 65th Street (The Phoenix) — postwar Lenox Hill co-op; a value-oriented cooperative peer
- 200 East 74th Street — full-service white-brick co-op corner tower; the full-service co-op alternative
- 255 East 77th Street — new-development condominium nearby; the newer-construction alternative
- Trump Palace (200 East 69th) — tall view-driven Lenox Hill condominium; the amenity-and-view alternative
- Manhattan House (200 East 66th) — the landmarked postwar-to-condominium benchmark; the architectural alternative
More Upper East Side buildings
- The Bayard House (203 East 72nd Street) — 1966 co-op
- 205 East 59th Street — 2002 condominium
- 205 East 63rd Street — 1963 co-op by Paul Resnick
- 205 East 85th Street (The Brompton) — 2007 condominium by Robert A.M. Stern Architects
- The Tower House (205 East 69th Street) — 1929 co-op by Sugarman & Berger
- The Omni, 206 East 95th Street — 1989
The neighborhood
For the full corridor — architecture, transit, and pricing across Upper East Side — read The Roebling Team Guide to Upper East Side.
The full playbook — what goes in the package, how boards read your financials, the interview, and the timeline — plus sample cover, reference, and personal letters you can adapt.
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 205 East 78th Street?
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