London flat brings $220 million, but will it close?
Well, it’s happened again. There’s another “world’s most expensive home” sale. A London penthouse in the prestigious One Hyde Park complex in London’s Knightsbridge has gone under contract for a whopping £140 million – that’s about US $220 million. Although the buyer hasn’t been identified, there’s buzz that the soon-to-be-owner may be one of the wealthy Nigerians or Middle Eastern prospects with pockets full of oil money who have been inquiring lately about London’s trophy properties.Of course, the big question is whether or not this prime six bedroom property -- which covers two floors and comes complete with SAS-trained security guards -- will close, or as the Brits say, go to completion. Several world record sales in the last couple of years have fallen though. Last year’s $57 million Hong Kong apartment sale made headlines with its record $9,200 square foot price, but the deal collapsed this June. The sale of Villa Leopolda on the French Riviera for $500 million also fell apart after the buyer, Russian oligarch Mikhail Prokhorov, backed out and sued to have his $55 million deposit returned. The court ruled against him.
Not all trophy home transactions have failed to close. In 2008, a flat in the redeveloped 8 St. James Square complex in London’s Winchester area sold and settled for $115 million to an Indian billionaire.
If the One Hyde Park property closes, the buyer will enjoy a wealth of amenities from bullet proof windows, a panic room, and purified air to room service from the Mandarin Oriental Hotel next door.
The project’s four towers are scheduled for completion in December. Flats in the 86 unit complex start as low as $31 million.This sale and the reported flurry of international buyer interest in London’s trophy homes comes in the wake of rising prices in central London. Cluttons, a survey and property consulting firm, reports that prices as of second quarter of this year were up 8.7% year-over-year, but still 10.9% below the September 2007 peak.
