- Year built
- 1893
- Type
- Cooperative
- Units
- 21
- Floors
- 5
- Landmark
- No
- Pets
- No pets; building is smoke-free — confirm at offer stage
- Subletting
- Permitted after an initial ownership period; specific terms set by the board — confirm at offer stage
Every recorded sale at this building, 2005–2026
Bedroom-by-bedroom medians, the full transfer record, and how units trade against ask.
- 2BR median
- $1.2M
- Recent range
- $785K – $1.6M
- Listing discount
- 11.5%
- Recorded transfers
- 11
51 East 78th Street is a boutique pre-war cooperative on one of the Upper East Side's most desirable side streets — the block of East 78th between Madison and Park. Five stories tall and low-rise in scale, the building holds roughly two decades of the neighborhood's residential history: a late-nineteenth-century elevator building, converted over time into a small cooperative of individually owned apartments. It is the kind of address that trades on quiet: no tower, no marketing name in wide circulation, just a well-located, small-scale co-op on a prime block.
For buyers, the appeal is scale and location. This is a genuinely small building — 21 apartments of record, currently closer to 18 after combinations — on a block that sits between Madison Avenue's retail and gallery corridor and the residential dignity of Park Avenue. The absence of a doorman and heavy amenity load keeps carrying costs restrained relative to full-service buildings, and the boutique format appeals to buyers who want a pre-war home on a top block without the price or formality of a large white-glove cooperative.
Building operations
51 East 78th Street operates as a self-service boutique cooperative: an elevator building with common laundry, a bike room, and intercom entry, staffed by a superintendent rather than a doorman. The lighter service model keeps monthly maintenance more restrained than in full-service buildings — a deliberate trade-off for buyers who prioritize location and scale over amenities. Public sources indicate the building is not pet-friendly and is smoke-free; both policies should be confirmed against current house rules at offer stage.
As a cooperative, ownership means owning shares in the corporation and a proprietary lease rather than a deeded unit. Purchases require a board application and interview, financing is subject to a board-set maximum, and buyers should review the co-op's financial statements and reserve position during due diligence. Pied-à-terre use is considered case by case, subject to board approval; subletting is generally permitted after an initial ownership period on terms the board sets. Confirm the financing cap, any flip tax, and the exact sublet policy at offer stage.
Recent sales
Cooperative apartments here are read on a per-room basis, the appropriate metric for co-op pricing. Recorded resales have spanned roughly $450,000 for a studio to around $1.5 million for a combined two-bedroom, with per-room values falling on the order of $200,000–$250,000 depending on layout, floor, and condition. Because the building is small and combinations have reduced the effective apartment count, resale inventory is thin and any single trade carries real weight in the comparable set. The building has historically required a minimum down payment in the neighborhood of 25%; confirm current financing terms with the board. Underwriting should be per-unit and room-count-specific rather than building-averaged.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 4, 2026 | 3BC | 2 BR · 2 BA | $1,578,000 | +5.2% | |
| May 11, 2023 | 1C | 2 BR · 2 BA · 1,150 sf | $900,000 | $783/sf | -21.7% |
| Jan 24, 2020 | 3AD | 2 BR · 2 BA | $1,350,000 | -19.6% | |
| Apr 2, 2013 | 5C | 1 BR | $725,000 | -3.3% | |
| Nov 13, 2012 | 1C | 2 BR · 1,150 sf | $1,005,000 | $874/sf | -22.6% |
| Jul 26, 2005 | 1C | 2 BR · 1,150 sf | $1,100,000 | $957/sf | off-mkt |
| Feb 7, 2005 | 1B | 2 BR · 1,400 sf | $1,085,000 | $775/sf | -1.3% |
Market read. $/sf is measured on the latest sales with reliable square footage (2023): a median $783/sf across 1 sale. The building has traded as recently as 2026. Median listing discount 11.5% 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Jun 26, 2024 | 4D | $785,000 |
| Oct 14, 2021 | 4D | $749,000 |
| Oct 5, 2021 | 5C | $945,000 |
| Feb 13, 2018 | 1A | $599,000 |
Sales sourced from NYC Department of Finance recorded transfers (BBL 1-01393-0027) 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
Buying here is a cooperative path: a board package and interview, a board-set financing maximum, and a careful review of the co-op's financials and reserves. The reasons to buy are location and scale — a boutique pre-war building on a prime Madison-to-Park block, with restrained carrying costs relative to full-service buildings and the quiet character that a small self-service co-op provides. Underwrite the specific apartment carefully; combinations and pre-war variation mean layouts differ meaningfully. Confirm the down-payment requirement, sublet and pied-à-terre policies, pet and smoking rules, and the building's financial position during due diligence.
What to know if you’re selling
The story is a boutique pre-war co-op on one of the Upper East Side's best side streets — scarcity, location, and restrained carrying costs. Pricing should be room-count-specific and anchored to recent comparables on the relevant apartment type, with combined units underwritten separately from single-line apartments. Positioning should lead with the block (Madison to Park), the building's low-rise pre-war character, and the value proposition of a well-located home without full-service overhead. Buyer qualification matters: the board's financing and financial requirements shape the realistic buyer pool, and pricing should reflect that.
Comparable buildings
If you're considering 51 East 78th Street, also look at these Upper East Side boutique buildings:
- 150 East 78th Street — nearby East 78th Street building serving an overlapping buyer pool
- 167 East 78th Street — boutique East 78th Street building, comparable scale and block context
- 170 East 78th Street — adjacent East 78th Street building with a similar residential character
- 188 East 78th Street — nearby boutique building on the same street
- 205 East 78th Street — East 78th Street comparable for scale and location
- 3 East 71st Street — boutique Upper East Side building serving a similar buyer profile
The Roebling Team at 51 East 78th Street
The Roebling Team at Compass works the Upper East Side cooperative market — including the neighborhood's boutique, self-service buildings that reward building-specific knowledge — as a core part of our practice. We publish this profile because buyers and sellers at a small pre-war co-op deserve intelligence calibrated to the building and its board. If you're weighing a purchase or sale at 51 East 78th Street, a 30-minute consultation is the right starting point.
The neighborhood
For the full corridor — architecture, schools, transit, and pricing across Upper East Side — read The Roebling Team Guide to Upper East Side.
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