House will have ‘Monaco-style casino’ too.
By Raif Karerat
WASHINGTON, DC: One of the largest homes in U.S. history is being built in Los Angeles. Nile Niami, a film producer and speculative residential developer, is erecting a compound that will have a 74,000-square-foot main residence and three smaller homes which the developer hopes to sell for a record $500 million.
The project, which will take at least 20 more months to complete, will exceed 100,000 square feet in total, including a 5,000-square-foot master bedroom, a 30-car garage, and a “Monaco-style casino,” Niami told Bloomberg Business.
“The house will have almost every amenity available in the world,” he wrote in an e-mail.
Five homes sold for more than $100 million last year, with at least 20 more on the market with nine-figure asking prices, according to a report by Christie’s International Real Estate, which is owned by the auction house Christie’s.
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. France’s Cote d’Azur, a popular getaway for the mega-rich, has two homes with asking prices of $425 million and $215 million.
Demand for mega-mansions is growing among affluent Americans and Europeans, billionaires from unstable economies such as Russia and some 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, according to Dan Conn, CEO of Christie’s real estate brokerage.
“It tells you that there is a new class of collectible – they’re trophies now,” he said, referring to the exorbitant properties that exceed the $100 million threshold.