23 East 81st Street
23 East 81st Street, between Fifth and Madison avenues · Upper East Side
Upper East Side
BBL 1014937506 · BIN 1046666
- Year built
- 1906
- Type
- Condominium
- Landmark
- Designated
- Amenities
- Elevator, private storage and voice intercom; gardens, terraces and fireplaces in selected homes
Every recorded sale at this building, 2007–2026
Price-per-square-foot over time, the line- and floor-premium curves, and every recorded sale.
- Median $/sf
- $1,661
- Listing discount
- 2.0%
- Recorded sales
- 13
- On record
- 2007–2026
Own an apartment here? See what it would sell for.
A Private Pricing Opinion — what your apartment at 23 East 81st 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.
About the building
23 East 81st Street was built in 1906–07 for the developers W.W. and T.M. Hall, with Welch, Smith & Provot as architects. The limestone-faced townhouse was part of a speculative pair, designed with elaborate classical detailing and mansard roofs. Its original four-story house form was subsequently enlarged and divided into apartments. The address sits at the eastern edge of the Metropolitan Museum Historic District on the north side of East 81st Street.
The condominium now contains a varied group of homes, including smaller one-bedroom apartments, combined two-bedroom residences and a garden duplex with living space across the parlor and garden levels. Selected apartments have fireplaces, private terraces or a landscaped roof terrace. High ceilings and the proportions of the original townhouse remain visible in the larger rooms. An elevator, storage and an intercom serve the building.
Recent sales
Recent closings at this building, curated by The Roebling Team research desk. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 22, 2026 | 7 | 2 BR · 2 BA · 1,445 sf | $2,400,000 | $1,661/sf | -2.0% |
| Sep 4, 2024 | 5D | 485 sf | $670,000 | $1,381/sf | off-mkt |
| Apr 2, 2024 | 1 | 3 BR · 4 BA · 1,108 sf | $1,700,000 | $1,534/sf | off-mkt |
| Jul 31, 2019 | PH10 | 2 BR · 1,800 sf | $1,831,000 | $1,017/sf | -8.0% |
| May 14, 2019 | 8R | 1 BR · 1 BA · 715 sf | $890,000 | $1,245/sf | -13.2% |
| Mar 19, 2019 | 8 | 1 BR · 1 BA · 715 sf | $890,000 | $1,245/sf | off-mkt |
| May 21, 2013 | 7 | 1 BR · 1 BA · 510 sf | $840,000 | $1,647/sf | -1.2% |
| Apr 30, 2008 | 10 | 833 sf | $1,250,000 | $1,501/sf | off-mkt |
Market read. Most recent trades (2026) cleared a median $1,661/sf across 1 sale. Median listing discount 2.0% 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 1-01493-7506) 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 from recorded condo declarations and offering plans.
Buying here? Condo closing costs with a mortgage typically run 3 to 6% of the price. See NYC co-op and condo closing costs, line by line.
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What to know if you’re buying
Apartment combinations are part of the building's history. Some current homes join spaces that previously traded separately. For a combined residence, check that the deeded condominium interests, approved layout and common-charge allocation all describe the same scope — a single apartment label alone won't show how the units were legally combined.
Comparable buildings
- Whitney Condos: Another small historic condominium conversion for comparing townhouse-derived interiors.
- 40 East 72nd Street: A prewar condominium with a similarly limited residential inventory.
- The Parkville: A taller prewar condominium with a modest number of residences.
- 30 East 76th Street: A larger prewar condominium for comparing apartment-house layouts with a townhouse conversion.
More Upper East Side buildings
- 21 East 79th Street — 1930 co-op
- 21 East 87th Street / 22 East 88th Street — 1927 co-op by Emery Roth
- The Carlton House (21 East 61st Street / 680 Madison Avenue) — condop
- The Volney (23 East 74th Street) — 1924 condop by Schwartz & Gross
- 24 East 82nd Street — 1902 co-op
- 25 East 69th Street — co-op
The neighborhood
For the full corridor — architecture, transit, and pricing across Upper East Side — read The Roebling Team Guide to Upper East Side.
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.
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