Scarlett Johansson and Colin Jost Buy Manhattan Penthouse for Half Its Original Asking Price
Actor Scarlett Johansson and comedian Colin Jost have purchased a triplex penthouse on Manhattan’s Upper East Side for $13 million, closing a real estate journey that saw the property sit on the market for nearly seven years with a series of steep price cuts.
The 6,000-square-foot co-op was first listed in 2018 with an asking price of $27.5 million. The sellers, Craig and Deborah Cogut, had originally purchased the apartment for $13 million in 2006. Before putting the unit on the market, the couple spent two years renovating the space, upgrading mechanical systems, wiring, plumbing, and interior finishes. Despite the updates and sweeping views of Central Park, the property failed to attract buyers at its initial price point, prompting successive reductions over the years.
By late 2024, the asking price had fallen to less than half of its original figure. In early 2025, Johansson and Jost completed the purchase, matching the exact amount the previous owners had paid for the residence nearly two decades earlier.
The residence is housed in a pre-war building designed by architect Rosario Candela in the 1930s and occupies the building’s upper floors. Spanning three levels, the home features six bedrooms, seven bathrooms, five terraces, eight balconies, and six wood-burning fireplaces.
A private elevator opens directly into a central gallery featuring floor-to-ceiling French doors. The main living room includes Parquet de Versailles floors, Venetian-plastered walls, a white marble fireplace, and six Juliet balconies. Additional interior spaces include a formal dining room with herringbone floors and goatskin-paneled walls, an oak-paneled library with a bookshelf-lined alcove and terrace access, a powder room, and an extended galley kitchen leading to a breakfast room framed by bronze and glass pocket doors.
The upper levels house the private quarters, with the entire top floor dedicated to a primary suite that opens onto a large private terrace.
The transaction reflects a broader trend across high-end Manhattan co-op properties, many of which have recently sold well below their initial asking prices or previous acquisition costs. Other high-profile properties in the city have experienced similar reductions. A unit at 4 East 66th Street recently sold for $37 million after being listed at $55 million in 2022, while Julia Koch sold an 18-room co-op at 740 Park Avenue for $45 million, representing a 25 percent discount from her 2022 asking price. Additionally, Grace Hightower sold a Central Park West co-op for $18 million, falling below the $20.9 million she and Robert De Niro had paid for it in 2006.
