Bought. Renovated. Sold.

The brief

Residence 5E at Lenox Manor (176 East 77th Street) — an owner-renovated two-bedroom, two-bath co-op in Lenox Hill — closed on September 17, 2026 at $1,465,000, against a $1,475,000 ask (−0.68%).

The sellers were our clients twice. We represented them when they bought 5E in February 2024 for $1,270,000. Two and a half years later they had to relocate, and they asked us to sell it. The apartment closed $195,000 above their purchase price.

They had already moved out of town when the sale began, and left the whole process with us for seven months.

The purchase and the renovation

When they bought, we advised them on the renovation: which contractors and architects to bring in, and where the money would be worth spending at resale. The work came in at a good price.

The result is the apartment the sale was built on: wide-plank European oak floors, solid wood doors with Emtek hardware, a renovated kitchen, and both bathrooms fully renovated with the plumbing replaced behind the walls.

Testing the market first

Before the public launch, we released 5E as a Compass Private Exclusive and watched the response. A private exclusive shows the apartment to agents and their buyers without a public listing, so we could read demand and the reaction to price before committing to a number in public. The apartment launched publicly on March 30, 2026 at $1,475,000.

A building that needs a primary-residence buyer

Lenox Manor is strict about occupancy. Pied-à-terre ownership and subletting are not permitted, so the buyer had to be someone who would live in the apartment full time. That narrows the pool, and it makes the buyer's board application part of the sale: a strong offer from a buyer the board won't approve is not a strong offer.

We assembled a full diligence package on the apartment and the building for buyers and their agents, so the questions a board-approval buyer asks were answered before they were asked.

Finding the buyer

The marketing ran on every channel at once — the public listing, open houses, private showings — with regular reports back to the sellers on each.

We also went looking for the buyer directly. We tracked homes being sold in the suburbs and asked the brokers on those sales which of their sellers were moving to Manhattan. That is how we found the buyer of 5E: a household leaving a suburban home to live in the city full time, which is exactly the buyer Lenox Manor's occupancy rules require.

Choosing between offers

When offers came in, we did not simply forward them. We ran diligence on each buyer and set out the strengths and risks of each application — price, financing, and how each would read to the board — so the sellers could choose on real information from out of town.

The result

The sale landed within $20,000 of the building's two strongest two-bedroom sales of the past eighteen months — 7D at $1,485,000 (August 2025) and 2K at $1,475,000 (April 2025) — and closed at 99.3% of its asking price.

Sales from public records.

In the client's words

"Selling our first home with Corey was a genuinely low-stress experience, even though we had already moved out of town and left the entire process in his hands for seven months.

As first-time sellers we needed someone who would actually walk us through the process, not just list the property and disappear. Corey did that. He provided solid market research at the start and kept it updated throughout, so we always understood where we stood. He also sent regular updates on open houses and showings, which made a huge difference when we couldn't be there ourselves.

When an offer came in, he didn't just forward it. He did detailed diligence on the buyers and laid out the pros and cons of each application so we could choose with real information instead of guessing. That level of care on the negotiation side is rare.

What stood out most is that he is trustworthy and not pushy. We never felt pressured, and we never had to worry whether things were in order. We left the apartment with him and could focus on our move knowing the sale was being handled professionally.

If you're looking for a broker who communicates, does the homework, and makes the experience stress-free, we highly recommend him!"

— Seller, Lenox Manor

Lenox Manor

Lenox Manor is a full-service cooperative at 176 East 77th Street, west of Third Avenue — one block from the 6 train and four blocks from Central Park. The building owns its ground-floor retail space and on-site garage, which supports the operating budget and keeps maintenance low. The policies that shaped this sale:

• Pied-à-terres are not permitted, and subletting is not permitted
• Financing is capped at 70%, including for later refinancing
• Flip tax: 1.5% of the gross sale price, paid by the seller
• Pets are permitted with prior written board approval

For the building's full profile — financials, board posture, alteration rules, and recent sales — see Lenox Manor (176 East 77th Street).

The strategic frame

A sale is easier when the broker knows the apartment from the purchase. We knew what 5E cost, what the renovation changed, and which features would carry the price. In a co-op that only sells to primary residents, the rest of the work is finding the buyer who fits the building and vetting each offer against the board, not just the price. That is how sellers can hand a sale over from out of town and not have to worry about it.

Selling a co-op from out of town, or selling an apartment you renovated?

If you're relocating, selling in a building with strict occupancy or board requirements, or want to know what your renovation is worth at resale, a 30-minute consultation is the right starting point. We'll work through pricing, the buyer pool your building allows, and how we would run the sale.

For the building's full profile, see Lenox Manor (176 East 77th Street).