The late Ivana Trump’stownhouse in New York has sat on the market for one full year with no takers. In September, it took a $4 million cut from its original asking price, down to $22.5 million.
The extravagant residence remains virtually untouched since her death in July 2022. In fact, very little has changed since Ivana Trump, former President Donald Trump’s first ex-wife, renovated the home in the 1990s.
“It’s very beautiful and very French, Versailles-flavored on the inside,” according to the home’s listing agent, J. Roger Erickson of Douglas Elliman. He was hired by Ivana Trump’s estate, which benefits her three children Ivanka, Donald Jr. and Eric, according to Erickson.
The six-story, almost 8,800-square-foot townhouse was built in 1879. It’s still decorated with the late Ivana Trump’s furnishings, clad in red carpets and red silk-covered walls, and dripping with gold accents and ornate crystal chandeliers.
“Ivana said that, ‘The house is as Louis the 16th would have lived if he had money,’ and that sums it up perfectly in her own words,” said Erickson.
In many instances, sellers have their homes professionally staged to make their residence more appealing to prospective buyers. In this case, the interiors at 10 E. 64th St. are still very much in the taste of its late owner.
Since her death from a fall on the home’s grand staircase, the residence remains a time capsule, with family photos still adorning walls and shelves. A large poster of one of Ivana’s magazine cover appearances hangs on a wall outside the home office. Her book “Raising Trump” sits on the coffee table in the living room.
Public records show Ivana bought the limestone townhome in 1992 for $2.5 million. According to Erickson, it was in disrepair when Ivana bought it, and she spent millions to gut renovate and infuse every floor with her distinctive style.
“Over 30 years the market has … skyrocketed,” said Erickson.
The latest asking price puts the townhouse’s price per square foot just under $2,600, in line with the average price per square foot for luxury home sales (top 10% of sales) seen in the third quarter, according to the Elliman Report.
However, the listing, which went up for sale last November, has been on the market longer than average for a townhouse in NYC, which was about five and half months in the same quarter and measured from the last price change to the contract date, according to Jonathan Miller president of Miller Samuel Inc., a real estate appraisal and consulting firm.
When properties like this one linger on the market for longer than the average marketing time, the listing is likely over priced, Miller told CNBC.
“The highly personalized interior decor of this townhouse is also probably contributing to the marketing delay since,” said Miller.
Only time will tell if the recent reduction in asking price will help get the home sold.
Here’s a look around Ivana Trump’s former residence.
Ivana’s former en suite bedroom spans the entire third floor and includes a fireplace and terrace.
The primary bath is covered in pink onyx, mirrors and gold fixtures. It opens to both the bedroom and a leopard-themed library.
The library’s furniture is upholstered in the spotted pattern, as are the pillows, walls and carpeting. The room is appointed with paintings that feature leopards, a small blond doll in a fur coat perched on the leopard sofa, a tray emblazoned with a wildcat, and a photo portrait of a young Ivanka with her mom. Both are pictured seated on the room’s leopard sofa with Ivana wearing a leopard dress as she kisses her daughter’s cheek.
Among the home’s five bedrooms is Ivanka’s former suite which includes a fireplace and canopied bed that is still adorned with a gold crown on top. In the bath, a few of the ceramic tiles on the walls and in the shower are personalized with “Ivanka” handwritten and embellished with hearts.
Off a small kitchen on the second floor is a small dining area with an overhead crystal chandelier hanging directly below a skylight. Ivana’s children would consider selling the home fully furnished, Erickson told CNBC.
In the rear of the townhouse is a 700-square-foot brick courtyard.
Real estate taxes on the residence are almost $10,900 a month or about $130,000 per year, according to the listing.