Sometimes real estate proves to be a less than magical investment.
While Hogwarts students live at the school for seven years, Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe spent 14 owning a Manhattan condo before deciding to unload it.
Now 33, Radcliffe bought a 2,500-square-foot, 11th-floor condo in Manhattan's West Village at the age of 19 for $4.9 million in 2008.
As first reported by the New York Post, Radcliffe first listed the apartment in June for $5.65 million. After a few months on the market, it sold just below asking price for $5.3 million.
The buyer is Fokke de Jong, the founder of the Dutch men's suit company Suitsupply. Founded in 2000, Suitsupply started out by selling suits at an affordable price at last-minute locations such as airports and business plazas.
The idea of getting a "emergency" suit picked up and, by 2022, the company was in 22 countries and worth an estimated $220 million.
A Star-Studded West Village Address for $5.3 Million
In recent years, Suitsupply also amped up the raciness of some of its campaigns--some particularly provocative ones have been subject to negative media attention.
Still actively running the company, De Jong splits his time between New York and Amsterdam. The three-bedroom, 3½-bath home that he purchased from Radcliffe is located at the high-end One Morton Square building.
The 14-story condo building overlooks both the city and Hudson River and has a host of different amenities--a concierge service, a state-of-the-art gym, a panoramic rooftop and a children's play room.
Due to its high level of security, One Morton Square is also popular real estate destination for celebrities--the Olsen twins, Amy Poehler and fellow Harry Potter actor Alan Rickman all called it home at different points in time.
On top of the $5.3 million sales price, De Jong's new condo also commands $3,089 in monthly fees. The condo comes with a 400-square-foot living room full of floor-length windows, three bedrooms with individual baths in each and a V-shaped chef's kitchen.
One television is positioned such that it can be rotated for viewing from two different rooms.
At one point, Radcliffe tried listing it for rent for $20,000 a month.
Jane Greenberg and David Costelloe of boutique real estate agency Avenue 8 were the listing agents representing the property.
The Wild, Wild World of Celebrity Real Estate
After 14 years, the condo sold for just $400,000 more than Radcliffe paid for it in 2008. As Radcliffe wasn't looking to make a large profit, it sold pretty fast--celebrity owners with multiple homes are often in no rush to sell and will sometimes set extremely high asking prices and wait to see if someone bites.
Basketball star Michael Jordan listed a seven-acre estate in Illinois' Highland Park for $29 million in 2012 and, ten years later, still hasn't sold it despite lowering the price numerous times to $14.8 million.
New York City saw significant real estate growth from the time that Radcliffe bought it--in 2010, the median price of a New York City home sale was $383,699. In September 2022, that number was at $828,000.
That said, homes at the lower end of the price point have increased much more quickly. Luxury real estate worth several million tends to hit a growth cap due to the lower number of available buyers.
When things like broker's fees are taken into account, Radcliffe barely broke even.
