Madonna Paid $32 M. for Mansion, More of a Bargain Than We Thought

Two deeds filed in city records Wednesday morning show that Madonna's very weirdly located new mansion officially cost $32 million. She bought the 12,000-square-foot house--where there’s a 38-foot-wide drawing room overlooking a garden; a formal dining room off a garden terrace; three pantries and two kitchens; two libraries and a sitting room; a parlor-floor dry bar and a “wine cellar/grotto” in the basement; plus, of course, a gym--last month, through a limited liability corporation called SEFADA, which somehow sounds appropriate.

There are no mortgage records filed along with the deeds, which suggests that she paid in all cash.

Considering that the East 81st Street mansion was originally listed for $45 million, the deal is a bargain. And The Times said that she was supposed to be paying just $32.5 million, so she did even better than expected. (And she did way better than in the earlier version of this online post, which said she'd paid $34 million).

mabelson@observer.com