Britney Cuts Sales Price of NY Apartment

By Stephen M. Silverman

05/03/2006 at 08:00 AM EDT

Britney Spears has stepped up plans to sell her downtown Manhattan penthouse, which has been on the market for nearly two years – since before her marriage to Kevin Federline and the birth of their son, Sean Preston.

The 4,000-sq.-ft., three bedroom, four and a half bathroom, four-floor apartment (which also has a media room, library and terrace), has a new asking price of $4.55 million, reduced from the previous $4.95 million, reports the New York Observer and confirmed by the pop princess's real-estate broker.

Spears, 24, bought the apartment in 2002 for $3 million and then put it on the market in 2004 – for $6 million, says the paper. Last year the price came down to $4.95 million. The latest reduction is new.

"At this price, it's an extremely attractive purchase for the spring – a time to enjoy the terrace," says realtor Adam Modler.

Previous owners of Spears's pad were Rolling Stone Keith Richards and hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons, while Cher was once also a neighbor.

As for what attracts music people to the building, it could be that its ground floor is taken up with a sort of retail landmark: Tower Records.