Scarlett Johansson Buys $27.5M Manhattan Penthouse for $13 Million

Scarlett Johansson and Colin Jost closed on a 6,000-square-foot Upper East Side penthouse for $13 million in early 2025. The price tag is exactly half the $27.5 million figure first listed in 2018. This sharp discount reflects a broader cooling in Manhattan’s high-end co-op sector, where inventory has lingered for years.

The sellers, Craig and Deborah Cogut, bought the apartment for $13 million back in 2006. After seven years on the market and repeated price reductions, they recovered their original investment but saw zero profit. By the end of 2024, the asking price had already fallen below the $13.75 million mark. The final sale price landed precisely at their 2006 purchase level.

The unit sits in a pre-war building designed by Rosario Candela in the 1930s. It features six bedrooms, seven bathrooms, and sweeping Central Park views from five terraces and eight balconies. A private lift opens into a central gallery with floor-to-ceiling French doors. The living room boasts Parquet de Versailles floors and Venetian-plastered walls. An oak-panelled library on the lowest floor offers direct terrace access.

This transaction mirrors a trend of high-profile losses in the city. Julia Koch sold her 18-room Park Avenue co-op for $45 million, roughly 25% below her 2022 asking price. Grace Hightower, Robert De Niro’s ex-wife, sold her Central Park West unit for $18 million, less than the $20.9 million couple paid in 2006. These deals confirm that even celebrity-endorsed properties can’t escape market gravity.

The Coguts spent two years renovating the space before listing it, upgrading wiring and plumbing in the aging structure. These improvements likely helped attract buyers despite the steep price drop. Johansson and Jost, who married in 2020, now own one of Manhattan’s most iconic residences. The next test for the market will be whether other overpriced listings follow suit or hang on for dearer days.