‘RHONY’: Sonja Morgan Almost Sold Her Townhouse – Then the Pandemic Hit [Exclusive]
Sonja Morgan’s famous Upper East Side townhouse, seen on The Real Housewives of New York City almost sold in 2020 when Morgan made a sweetheart of a deal.
Morgan recently recalled how after struggling to unload the $10 million townhouse for nearly eight years she actually had a buyer who was ready to pay cash. But before the ink was dry on the initial agreement, the buyer pulled out as the pandemic struck. “Just before Covid I had a full offer,” she exclaimed to Showbiz Cheat Sheet. “Full offer cash with everything in it.” So what happened?
Why didn’t Sonja Morgan’s townhouse sell?
The buyer was actually a fan of RHONY. “Somebody that watches the show and she’s a businesswoman who owns six or seven different homes. She wanted it as is,” Morgan recalled, revealing that the buyer wanted all the custom fixtures and even some of the furniture. “All the antiques except for the Morgan and Adams pieces. I have to take those obviously for my daughter.”
“But I started that deal with her in January and February,” Morgan continued. “She pulled out. Both of our lawyers were about to exchange financial reports and all that. Nope! Because of Covid.” Morgan eventually found new renters for the home, but their contract ended.
The New York real estate market tanked at the beginning of the pandemic as residents fled for open spaces in states like Florida. Prices took a nose dive too leaving investors to snap up properties at a never-before-seen discount.
Would Sonja Morgan trust Ramona Singer to sell her ‘RHONY’ townhouse?
New York real estate has since recovered and Million Dollar Listing New York broker Tyler Whitman said pandemic buyers were smart. “That’s when you should be like buying up [property]!” he told Showbiz Cheat Sheet about buying during the pandemic.
“The fact that people didn’t gobble up so much real estate in New York City in the middle of the pandemic, and the fact that people ever bought into the fact that this whole concept of New York is going to crumble and will never come back. I’m like, ‘Are you kidding me?’”
“Anyway, so we’re back,” Whitman laughed. “We’re back with a vengeance.”
Now that the market rebounded, would Morgan trust a broker friend to sell the home … perhaps newly minted real estate agent, Ramona Singer? “I don’t work with friends,” she replied. “I called Ramona at her job and she’s doing quite well.” And added, “She impressed me. She did pass her exam so she has her license now. But Michael Lorber from Million Dollar Listing, he’s one of my best friends, closest friends. I wouldn’t use him and Josh Flagg [Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles] is my other close friend …”
Sonja Morgan teased filming back at the townhouse for ‘RHONY’ or spinoff
She also may not be selling because she will be filming at the townhouse once again. “I couldn’t rent it forever,” she said.
“That was killing me,” she said. “Not working, not filming the show. And carrying the house, which was fine when my daughter was using the house a lot. She’s a junior now in college, so I don’t need this house. Right? So what I did is put it back on the market and got it rented so that renter is leaving. This renter is leaving at the end of the month. And so when I start filming again, I’m going to be in the house again!”
Morgan is partnering with Luann de Lesseps for a Simple Life type reality show, which will start filming in July. In the meantime, she’s on the road hosting Pride events and touring with her “Sonja in Your City” show.
