There’s a home listed for even $425 million.
By Raif Karerat
WASHINGTON, DC: The luxury housing market has escalated as the dollar has strengthened and a record number of properties around the world are commanding prices exceeding $100 million, according to a report by Christie’s International Real Estate, which is owned by the auction house Christie’s.
Five homes sold for more than $100 million last year, with at least 20 more on the market with nine-figure asking prices, the brokerage reported.
Last year’s purchases include a $146 million French Riviera mansion. Each square foot of the home cost $22,577 — roughly equivalent to a new Honda Accord, according to the Associated Press.
“It tells you that there is a new class of collectible – they’re trophies now,” said Dan Conn, CEO of Christie’s real estate brokerage.
Sales are likely to increase this year with more newly built properties and off-market homes trading for at least $100 million, Conn told Bloomberg. Demand is growing among affluent Americans and Europeans; billionaires from unstable economies, such as Russia and Middle Eastern countries; and buyers from mainland China, who were barred from investing overseas before 2012 and since have snapped up houses in cities including Hong Kong, Los Angeles, New York and London, he said.
“You’re looking at a universe of over 1,800 billionaires who are starting to become members of this club of collectors of the most unique and incredible real estate in the world,” Conn stated during a telephone interview with Bloomberg. “It’s something they’ll hold onto for a lifetime, the same way they’ll hold onto a Picasso or a Warhol or any number of the great pieces of art we’ve sold over the years.”
Residences currently on the market with asking prices at that level include a $400 million Monaco penthouse, a $365 million London manor and a $195 million estate in Beverly Hills, California, Christie’s disclosed to the business journal. France’s Cote d’Azur, a popular getaway for the mega-rich, has two homes with asking prices of $425 million and $215 million.