Real-estate investor David Edelstein has picked up some market luck with the purchase of an Upper East Side townhome in New York City for $19 million, almost 40 percent less than the same property sold for just two years ago.

Located on East 70th Street, Edelstein snatched up the townhouse as an investment property in an off-market deal in mid-November. The home was last on the market this past summer with a $22-million asking price after being on and off the market with a number of different price cuts for about a year.

The historic property was built in the mid-1800s and measures in at 5,700 square feet with five stories and five bedrooms. The interior space was renovated by one of the recent owners, Susan Weber Soros, the ex-wife of businessman George Soros.

The seller, Christopher H. Cole, paid $31 million for the townhome in 2014. His inability to offload the townhouse for around the same price shows both that Cole might have overpaid and that the Manhattan luxury real estate market might be hitting a downturn.

Edelstein is the President of Tristar Capital, the company responsible for developing the W South Beach hotel and other retail centers in Miami and about 20 residential and commercial properties in New York City.