Barbara Corcoran Sells Fifth Avenue Penthouse for $13.5 Million—$1.5M Over Ask

Barbara Corcoran’s “palace in the sky” has officially changed hands—and at a premium.

The real estate icon and Shark Tank star has closed on the sale of her Upper East Side duplex penthouse at 1158 Fifth Avenue at East 97th Street, fetching $13.5 million—$1.5 million over her original $12 million asking price, as first reported by Realtor.com. The sale comes just months after Corcoran, 76, listed the home in May, and incredibly, it went into contract just one day after hitting the market.

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Corcoran bought the sprawling 11-room co-op in 2015 for $10 million, calling it her dream home. At the time, she and her husband, former FBI agent Bill Higgins, moved in after a full gut renovation—which she later estimated cost an additional $2 million. So while the numbers suggest a $3.5 million profit, the more accurate takeaway is a roughly $1.5 million gain after renovations.

But for Corcoran, the penthouse wasn’t a financial play—it was personal. Her connection to the apartment dates back to 1992, when she first laid eyes on it while delivering a letter there as a courier. “My god, I’ve never seen anything as beautiful in my life,” she later told The New York Times. She asked the then-owner to let her know if it ever came up for sale. More than two decades later, they kept their word—and Corcoran was in a position to buy it.

The four-bedroom, six-bathroom home features breathtaking Central Park views, a chef’s kitchen, and what the listing described as the “most exquisite glass solarium on Fifth Avenue.” Other highlights include a semi-private elevator landing, double-height foyer, wood-burning fireplaces, and a reimagined indoor/outdoor dining room in the former greenhouse.

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Despite the emotional attachment, Corcoran announced in May that she and her husband were ready for a more practical living setup. Now 80, Higgins had begun having trouble navigating the penthouse’s curved staircase. “I never thought I’d say goodbye to this beautiful palace in the sky,” she wrote on Instagram, adding, “I’m just hoping the special person who buys it cherishes it as much as I do.”

After being outbid on her first choice—a $9.95 million penthouse at 1126 Fifth Avenue once owned by Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward—Corcoran eventually landed a nearby single-story unit, more suitable for the couple’s evolving needs.

The sale also came shortly after Corcoran’s Pacific Palisades trailer home was destroyed in the California wildfires—an emotional blow that she has said she plans to recover from by rebuilding.

Corcoran built her namesake firm with a $1,000 loan in the 1970s, sold it for $66 million in 2001, and remains one of the most recognizable names in real estate. But her Fifth Avenue home, it seems, was never just an asset. “For me, real estate is emotional,” she told The Times. “You can control the space, but you can’t control the spot.”

The listing was held by Carrie Chiang and Scott Stewart of the Corcoran Group.

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