Luxury Insights

New “world record home sale”

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.   

Most expensive homes for sale in America

Every year in their Ultimate Homes issue our friends at Unique Homes Magazine compile a list of the most-expensive homes for sale in America. 

The Ultimate issue will be hitting the newsstands and our mailboxes soon, and it looks like the editors at Unique Homes have some interesting observations about the market, gleaned from their work on this year's edition...

Sale of 'Le Belvedere' sets new record for 2010

More on the long rumored sale of the Bel Air mansion "Le Belvedere" in today's Los Angles Times article, "Bel-Air mansion fetches highest price this year for a U.S. residence."

In a nutshell:

Although he wouldn't release the sale price, seller Mohamed Hadid confirmed that it was in excess of the previous record of more than $46.5 million set this spring in Colorado, falling between $50 million and the asking price of $72 million. In Los Angeles County, sale prices can take more than a month to appear on the public record.

Designer-developer Hadid had listed the walled and gated estate 15 months ago at $85 million.

The 48,000-square-foot estate, called Le Belvedere, was bought in the name of a limited liability company, not an individual. "Even I don't know who bought it," said Hadid, who has built Ritz-Carlton hotels, office buildings and king-size estates nationwide during his 30-year-plus career.

Forbes: America's Most Expensive Homes

Le Belvedere

"Amenity-laden properties at the top of the market continue to command just as lofty prices." according to a Forbes article this week. 

"Two of last year's homes [from their most expensive home list] have been sold--no small feat in a down economy. But neither commanded anything near their sky-high asking prices. The massive Bel Air mansion Le Belvedere, which went on the market in early 2009, was quickly reduced from $85 million to $72 million. The discount worked: It is currently in the escrow stage of a sale for an undisclosed price."

Russian billionaire backs out of deal, loses $50 millon deposit

Back in August of 2008 Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov put the French mansion Villa Leopold under contract for a record $750 million.  In March of last year he tried to back out of the deal and wanted his $50 million (€40 million) deposit back. 

Yesterday the courts ruled in favor of the owner Lilly Safra, who can not only keep the €40 million but was also awarded damages of €1.5 million.  Ms. Safra indicated that she would be donating the money to charities.

The Times Online has more details here

Hong Kong Real Estate on Fire: IPJ

Hong Kong property company Sun Hung Kai Properties Ltd. announced it had sold 900 apartments over the weekend for a total of HK$4.2 billion ($540 million).  Not bad for a couple days work. 

The full story on the International Property Journal website.

 

Most expensive sale of the year and other rumblings

Yesterday the Aspen Times reported the sale of a 21,400 square foot home  on four-and-a-half acres for $43 million in a cash deal.  At $43 million, this is would appear to be the most expensive home reported sold in the U.S. so far this year.  The Wall Street Journal has picked up the story here.

In a skim of the headlines for other cheery news, we see Bloomberg reporting Rich Russians Returning to U.S. Property Lured by Lower Prices and China Daily reporting robust luxury home sales in large Chinese cities.  In Beijing Q2 sales in the city's 30 most expensive residential projects were up 100% year-over-year.  The story suggests that the strong market is being driven by overseas buyers and a concern for wealth preservation.  As one buyer notes, "You have to find a place to invest your money, and high-end property is the best investment choice to maintain the value of assets."

If your market is seeing more distressed homeowners than foreign buyers, remember that our upcoming August Webinar for members will cover the new rules for Short Sale Success.  Watch your email for registration information. 

Recent record breaking sales

Back in march Ron & Alexandra Seigel of Napa Consultants -- joined us on a member conference call to discuss effective agent marketing and positioning (listen here).  Ron & Alexandra help agents postion themselves for market dominance. 

Well, recently two of their very successful agent clients have broken price records for sales in their markets -- the highest priced sale YTD in Las Vegas ($9.5M)  and the highest priced sale YTD in Sonoma County ($3.8M). 

Congratulations!

And here in our backyard, it would appear that there may be a new Dallas record, with the sale of 5323 Park lane (map). 

The home hit the market last year at $45,000,000 and is rumored to have sold at about $30M.  More details here and here.

Yahooooooo!

I think that's what Members Laura Duggan and Patrick Birdsong must be saying right now--not only do they have the most expensive listing in Austin, Texas, but it has also been featured as "the most viewed expensive home" on Yahoo's homepage and has been in the rankings for five days. 

This great exposure on Yahoo has resulted in over two thousand folks visiting their website and registering to see more listing details--in just two days. 

As Laura says, "You gotta love that viral marketing!"

Congratulations Laura and Patrick!

"Bark if you like this one!"

AP PHOTO from LA Times

Record set for most expensive listing in US -- $150 million
Owner's dog helps select listing agent

When  legendary television producer Aaron Spelling's widow decided to list her gated $150 million Los Angeles mansion in prestigious Holmby Hills, she invited Realtors in for marketing consultation appointments.  While list price suggestions and specific marketing plans may have carried some weight, the word is that Candy Spelling was watching the reaction of her Wheaton Terrier Madison to help her determine which real estate professional would walk away with the listing.  Sally Forster Jones, a Beverly Hills Coldwell Banker Previews agent, must have caused the dog's tail to wag, because she snagged the business as the co-listing agent. (Does anyone know who is co-listing with Sally?) 

The reported $150 million list price makes "The Manor" the most expensive listing in the US.  The new listing bumps another Los Angeles property priced at $125 million from the top spot.  The Spelling's French chateau style home is reported to have more than 56,000 square feet, sits on 4.6 acres and -- although not even Mrs. Spelling is sure of the exact count -- has about 100 rooms (at least one of which we assume belongs to Madison). Other features include a wine cellar, gift wrapping room, bowling alley, barber shop, beauty salon and parking for 100 cars.  It is just down the street from another trophy residence, The Playboy Mansion.

How saleable is a $150 million home?  With the number of multi-millionaires and billionaires in the world declining,  the prospect list has gotten smaller.  What do you think?

CNN video
LA Times article  
LA Times photo gallery