Over $50 M.? $56 M.? Paging the Plaza--Please Brag

The Observer reported last week that an apartment in the Plaza Hotel had sold for at least $50 million.

Well, The Times reports this morning that an apartment did, indeed, sell at the Plaza for at least $50 million--for $56 million to be exact.

But, here's the problem, as The Times' Josh Barbanel notes:

Last week, the online edition of The New York Observer reported a sale at the Plaza in excess of $50 million, but brokers familiar with the building could not confirm whether that report referred to the same sale or a second sale in the same price range.

So, we have, then, either one apartment for at least $50 million--or two separate apartments for at least $50 million. One or the other, or both, would, individually, represent the most expensive single-apartment purchase by far in New York City history. Confused? Anxious?

It's understandable. What's not so much is why the Plaza's handlers--including Stribling & Associates, the icon's exclusive sales agent--won't share details of what are already deals (or a deal) in contract. Why the modesty? Why not bask in a glow so bright as to eclipse even a red-hot residential real-estate market?

Stay tuned...