The good news: You can pick up a magnificent Park Avenue penthouse at a $20 million discount.
The bad news: It’ll still set you back $31 million.
Donald Trump, the developer of the building at 502 Park Ave., finally slashed the price after the four-bedroom apartment had languished on the market for 54 weeks.
It boasts terraces and magnificent views.
With the real-estate crisis finally spreading to the most exclusive areas in Manhattan and the Hamptons, “you have to do something dramatic, like a $20 million price cut, to get people’s attention,” said broker Adam Modlin.
“There has never been a better opportunity to get into the market and buy a trophy penthouse in a white-glove Park Ave building.”
High-end properties are staying on the market for 50 percent longer than the time they were last year — from an average of 14 weeks to 21 weeks. And the longer they stay on the market, the deeper the price cuts.
Many of the luxury properties were priced just before the Lehman Brothers collapse last September, said Sofia Kim, vice president of research at the real-estate listing Web site StreetEasy.
“Sellers were then forced to adjust their expectations to meet buyers’ realities. And the reality is that fewer people are looking for luxury homes in Manhattan and the Hamptons.”
Sometimes, the monster price cuts do the trick.
Russian financier Andrei Vavilov recently bought a full-floor penthouse — 8,300 square feet on the 78th floor — for $37 million at the Time Warner Center. That’s $28 million less than its original $65 million asking price.
But in today’s market, even finance geniuses like hedge-fund boss John Paulson — who has profited from this bad economy — are taking real-estate hits.
In June, The Post broke the news that Paulson got rid of his 7,000-square-foot Southampton home for around $9.9 million — even though he bought it for $12.75 million in 2006 and tried to sell it in April 2008 for $19.5 million.
There’s another $20 million price cut in the Hamptons. At 2 Fowler Lane in Southampton, a house that was originally on the market for $80 million was cut to $60 million three months ago.
The 13,500-square-foot home has been on the market for 65 weeks.
It’s perfect for people who enjoy a swim. It abuts the ocean and a pond — and if that’s not enough, it also has a swimming pool.
Yet another Southampton home, at 160 Ox Pasture Lane, has dropped from million to $49 million. It’s also been on the market for more than a year.