NateBerkus

From Cityfile's Buyers and Sellers:
--via Curbed, a building at 70 Broad Street has gone on the market for $45 million. The 15,218-square-foot building can be used as an office, mixed-use property or private residence and was reportedly owned by the late spiritual guru Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. The listing is here.
--via the NY Times, John Steinbeck's former NYC apartment is listed at $2.1 million. The listing is here.
--Vogue contributing editor Lauren Santo Domingo and her husband Andrés Santo Domingo have purchased Michael Hirtenstein's townhouse at 23 Gramercy Park South for $18.5 million. The home was used as the Showtime showcase house and rooms were decorated by interior designers to reflect the themes of various Showtime shows.
--via Curbed, Steve Schwarzman, the billionaire Blackstone Group co-founder who listed his former home in East Hampton last month for $7.2 million, has already dropped the price to $6.75 million.
--via NY Times, Gisele Bundchen already listed her Barrow Street townhouse in New York. The supermodel has also re-listed her triplex penthouse at 347 West 11th Street, which has been on and off the market for two years now. The apartment first hit the market for $10.9 million back in 2007 and is now listed for $4.5 million.
--via NY Observer, the Permanent Mission of Afghanistan to the United Nations has paid $4.235 million for a 2,840-square-foot apartment at Trump World Tower. The apartment will reportedly be used by Afghanistan's UN ambassador, H.E. Zahir Tanin.
--via the NY TImes, the former New Jersey home of Michael Strahan and his ex-wife Jean has gone down in price is now listed for $4.75 million.
--via NY Observer, cardboard magnate Dennis Mehiel has chopped $5.4 million off the price of his Carhart Mansion duplex. It was listed for $34.9 million but is now at $29.5 million.
--Michael Steinberg, a portfolio manager at Sigma Capital, a hedge fund affiliated with Steve Cohen's SAC Capital, has picked up a new penthouse at 885 Park Avenue for $8 million.
--Clara Markowicz, co-founder of Original Media LLC and a co-producer of The Rachel Zoe Project, has paid $3.55 million for an apartment at 21 Astor Place.
--Fashion photographer Alexi Lubomirski has paid $2.095 million for a two-bedroom condo at 52 East 4th Street.
--via Newsday, Richard Gere and Carey Lowell are expected to close on the sale of their Water Mill home this week. The 1.2-acre property was last listed for $7.2 million when it went into contract last month.

--via NY Observer, investor Ephraim Gildor has listed his duplex penthouse at the Park Laurel on West 53rd Street for $28 million. The listing is here.
--Terence Kawaja, a managing director at GCA Savvian Advisors, has paid $7.235 million for a 15th-floor apartment at 150 East 86th Street.
--Goldman Sachs executive Raj Sethi has put the apartment at 15 Central Park West that he bought for $4.1 million in December 2007 back on the market. It is listed at $7.1 million.
--Neil Hirsch, who founded Telerate, co-founded the Bridgehampton Polo Club in 1995, and was once married to comedy club queen Caroline Hirsch, has put his five-story townhouse at 15 Sutton Place on the market.for $12 million.
Leslie Lewis Sword, actress, writer, and daughter of the late Reginald Lewis, the former CEO of Beatrice Foods, has paid $8.136 million for an apartment at 150 East 86th Street


From the NY Post's Gimme Shelter:
--Oprah's favorite interior designer Nate Berkus has been spotted checking out a two-bedroom apartment at the Urban Glass House.
--Dutch-born financier Alex Roepers and his wife, Shafi, bought four empty acres on the ocean, right beside Dune Beach, on Meadow Lane in Southampton for around $17.5 million.

From the Wall Street Journal's Private Properties:
--Former American Express Co. Chairman and CEO James Robinson III has sold his 35-acre Warren, Connecticut estate to architect Santiago Calatrava for $5.5 million, which is 25 percent below the $7.35 million asking price.
--Golfer Fred Couples has sold his Montecito, California home for $9.56 million, which is also nearly 25 percent less than the asking price.

From the Real Estalker:
--Ryan Cabrera's Hollywood home has been reduced to $1.1 million. He bought the home for $1.45 million in 2006 and has been trying to sell it since October 2008 when it was listed at $1.699 million. It's finally slid into short sale territory with a new asking price of $1.1 million.