Exclusive | Why the Versailles in Manhattan townhouse has been on the market for 21 years

For 21 years, the large townhouse at 163 E. 64th St. has been on and off the market, bouncing between almost every broker in town.

The property was first listed in 2003 and at its peak asked $35 million. The four-story home — sometimes called the “Versailles in Manhattan,” with its ornate, period and Louis XIV-style interiors — is up for sale again, now asking a lower $15.99 million. (If suitable for a prospective buyer, fixtures and fittings are negotiable and may come with a sale.)

The mansion appears to hold a record for the New York City home that has spent the longest time on the market — most likely because the home has never been overpriced, real estate insiders say. They also suggest the seller — retired commercial real estate broker Kenneth D. Laub — doesn’t really want to sell it.

For a property that has languished on the market for so long, “you wonder what’s wrong and the first thing you look at is the price,” said one industry insider. “The price has always been above the current value. Listings are like milk. They don’t get better with age.”

In the past, Laub wasn’t particularly interested in selling, “but I’m a serious seller now,” he told The Post, in a message relayed by the current listing agent, John Antretter of The Agency. “This is a big house. It’s an even bigger house when you’re 85 than when you were 55. So it’s time to slim down.”

Laub bought the mansion in 1986 for $4 million, or $11.48 million when adjusted for inflation. Over time, “life decisions change,” Antretter said. “It’s about downsizing at this stage of life.”

Antretter has renamed the property the “Symphony House,” in honor of Laub’s love of music. “I organized a lot of concerts and music nights with friends,” added Laub.

“We hosted Liza Minnelli’s engagement party. The list of shows is extensive. The entire second floor is professionally wired for sound and recording. Music has played a huge role in my life and in the creation and use of my home. If you are interested, you can listen [my] music on YouTube and enjoy some of my New York City music.”

Now, the pressure to sell is increasing.

After a seven-year standoff in court, with several lenders suing Laub for alleged failure to pay, the home is in foreclosure. Last month, a New York court ordered the house to be auctioned within 180 days.

According to court documents filed by a creditor in a separate lawsuit, last year Laub based an $18 million appraisal on “the opinions of three realtors,” an approach known in the field as BOV, or “broker’s opinion of value”. But an appraisal report prepared for the creditor’s law firm gave a lower value, $14.1 million. Monthly taxes are just under $11,000.

Some potential sales have fallen through in recent years, according to Y. David Scharf, Laub’s attorney. “Some have been due to lenders not cooperating,” Scharf told The Post.

Before the pandemic, “there was a strong offer for about $17.5 million,” but it required the cooperation of two mortgage lenders, one of which was “very difficult,” Scharf said. “We couldn’t get all the parties together fast enough and missed out on a great sale.”

Pandemic issues “drastically limited Mr. Laub’s extensive efforts to sell his property,” by eliminating in-person showings and a “travel ban against European visitors who make up the largest pool of potential buyers,” according to court documents filed by another of Laub’s attorneys .

In the spring, a marketing report from Nest Seekers International, filed by one of Laub’s attorneys in another lawsuit, said the home had been brightened up with more than $50,000 in improvements that included fresh landscaping, paint and mechanical repairs. At that point, Nest Seekers held the listing, asking $15.99 million.

Without such action, the property “may otherwise fall into a dilapidated and hopeless condition and become significantly depreciated as a result,” the marketing report said. “Everyone involved should be grateful and optimistic.”

Additionally, Nest Seekers spent no less than this amount, $50,000, on marketing and events.

The marketing report mentions two potential buyers, one who is a “neighborhood resident of a prominent high-net-worth New York family” who is “likely our end-user buyer.” We are proceeding eloquently and patiently, but with the necessary prudence given the nature of the proceedings… We have never been more confident in our activities and the state of the market and we strongly believe that we are heading towards an agreement with one of the current prospects in the future months. The property is priced right where it needs to be, and the worst of the market conditions have bottomed out and are now behind us.”

However, neither the optimism nor the confidence translated into sales. This month, according to an update on StreetEasy, the listing went to the Agency.

In the first half of 2024, the Upper East Side — where Laub’s apartment sits — saw 26 home transactions, according to a report by Leslie Garfield, a broker who specializes in townhouses.

Townhomes represent only 2% of annual Manhattan home sales.

“Think of the townhome market as a subset of luxury, at the high end of the market,” said Jonathan Miller, president of appraisal firm Miller Samuel.

The townhouse, in all its neo-Georgian glory, is 20 meters wide.

“The average town house is 18 feet wide, so 20 is wider than normal,” though still not unusual, Miller said. The greater the width, the more flexible the floor plan. “I remember being at home,” he added. “I remember it being beautiful.”

Laub’s home — currently asking $15.99 million — is listed as 8,000 square feet. However, some insiders call the figure misleading, as it includes basement space. City records say the “gross living area” is 6,716 square feet.

Although the appraisal report characterizes the home’s Lenox Hill neighborhood near Lexington Avenue as “one of style and wealth,” it says a location closer to Central Park would be “superior.”

That’s funny, says Miller: “It’s a beautiful block.”

The backyard is small, but so are many townhouse yards. “It’s almost better to have a roof terrace, to have more light,” Miller said.

Zoning allows for a floor to be added on top.

“But you have to build it, and roof rights don’t have the same value as finished interior space,” Miller said.

The elevator is a real plus. Last year, only 10% of townhomes sold on the East Side had one. The elevator in this home, originally installed in 1923, was redone inside by Laub designer Ronald Bricke.

“The elevator is well-made and well-placed,” said a real estate insider. “For many buyers, an elevator is a make-or-break fixture because it’s hard to carve out a space for an elevator without really messing up the floor plan.”

The house even has radiant heat under the pavement – no shovels needed.

“Properties like this are unique,” Scharf said. “They have individual characteristics and it is difficult to compare them. Like all unique properties, it is subject to many problems. All it takes is one person who really wants her to pay $18 million, and all you need is two people for it to suddenly be a $19 or $20 million sale.”

Now, as the house goes back on the market, will it actually sell?

The museum-like interior, Antretter admitted, isn’t for everyone. “But the bones are great,” he said. “If the wallpaper isn’t your style, you can bring in your stylist and do an update. If you go to the guest suites, you’ll feel like you’re at Claridge’s.”

“If someone doesn’t have an estimate for a 19th-century chandelier, we can rule out some installations,” he said. That 19th-century chandelier, made of bronze, is adorned with sea nymphs.

Laub currently lives at home with his maid, Winnie.

“I owned a yacht in the south of France called Exocet,” he told The Post. “My chef, Franck, and first mate, Andre, worked full-time at home when we weren’t at sea. Then, when they were ready to move on, they found me my servant, Winnie, who I’ve had for the last 18 years.”

If Laub really needs to move, he says, he won’t leave at all.

“I’m a true-blue New Yorker and I’ve lived in Manhattan since college,” he said. “It’s been 63 years. New York, for me, is the cultural center of the world. I’m not a snowbird. I’ll stay in the neighborhood and maybe just rent a three-bedroom apartment.”