An anonymous buyer has paid almost $2 million for one of the late Maya Angelou’s Harlem townhouses.
The buyer put down $1.98 million for the three-unit, 3,500-square-foot townhouse at 29 East 129th Street in Harlem, down from the original asking price of $2.6 million, the listing agent, Valon Nikci of Link NY Realty, confirmed.
But that price still represents a huge increase from the $275,000 the iconic poet and civil rights activist paid in 2001 for the building, which comprises three rental units including a two-bedroom duplex with a backyard. The other two are one-bedroom apartments.
In July, another of the civil right activist’s Harlem homes at at 58 W. 120th St. changed hands for more than $4 million. This was also down from the original asking price of $5.1 million. She moved into that home in 2004 and always rented the other townhouse out.
More:Maya Angelou’s Former Home Sells for Over $4 Million
Prices of Harlem townhouses have soared over the past couple of years as priced- out Manhattanites search further uptown for more space for less money, and are attracted by Harlem’s ever-increasing number of hip, quality restaurants and the proximity to Central and Morningside parks.
More:Townhouse Sales—and Prices—Slip in New York City
According to a recent report by Leslie J. Garfield, a real estate brokerage specializing in townhouses, average sales prices in Central Harlem jumped by 59% to $3.3 million in the first half of this year, from $2.04 million during the same period in 2015.
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