Most Expensive Condos in the World

If forty million dollars seems like a high price for a single condo in Manhattan, that’s probably because it is. We recently reported that Sun Microsystem founder Bill Joy has put his luxury Manhattan condo on the market, without ever having moved in. Should the asking price be achieved,

it will mean a profit of $20 million.

Other luxury condos around the World are also asking, and receiving record breaking prices.

Mumbai, India Over tea and sandwiches at the Citibank office at Mumbai’s Bandra-Kurla Complex at 10.30 am on Wednesday, family members and representatives of some of India Inc’s top guns settled down to outbid each other for a luxurious apartment. The winning bidder was UK-based NRI, Kewalramani, who has bought the apartment in the name of Record Investments and Leasing Pvt Ltd. Sources said Kewalramani had been looking to purchase a flat in NCPA for some months and had earlier evinced interest in a flat on the 21st floor. However, the owner had turned down the offer.

The seventh-floor NCPA apartment has a super built-up area of 3,475 sq ft and a carpet area of about 2,100 sq ft. As laid down by Citigroup, only the top five bidders were invited on Wednesday morning. When the sealed envelopes were opened, Kewalramani’s quotation was found to be the highest at Rs 28 crore. But when the opportunity was given to everyone to raise their bids, the UK NRI went up to Rs 34 crore - $8.6 million.

Others in the fray included the wife of the CEO of one of the country’s largest private telecom companies, who stopped at Rs 31 crore. The wife and daughter of the chairman of a new private sector bank were also present and quoted the second highest price of Rs 33.6 crore. An official representing an influential and trusted CEO in one of the country’s largest and most respected business houses, sat patiently, but did not raise his offer of Rs 20 crore. A woman, who already owns an apartment in NCPA, was also present with a bid of Rs 29 crore. A representative of a Bangalore-based developer also landed up, but was not allowed to participate as its bid of Rs 18 crore was not among the top five.Timesofindia

Hong Kong, China A new Hong Kong apartment has sold for a record US$14.1 million, a report said yesterday, as the city’s booming market for luxury homes continues to strengthen.

The 3,205 square foot duplex apartment on Hong Kong island fetched HK$109 million (S$20.56 million), or HK $34,000 per square foot, according to a report in the South China Morning Post.

The sale broke the record of HK$33,300 per square foot for a flat in the distinctive The Arch development on the opposite side of Victoria Harbour, which was sold in March.

The apartment, in the four-tower The Legend development, features a rooftop swimming pool with gold-plated fixtures and a view of the famous harbour, the paper said, quoting Louis Ho, property director at the sales agent, Centaline.

‘These features attracted the buyer to pay an aggressive price for the unit,’ he said.

The record is not expected to last long as the developer, Cheung Kong (Holdings), part of Asia’s richest man Li Ka-Shing’s business empire, plans to raise prices for the remaining duplexes in the building, the report said.

Earlier in the week, a prime piece of development land in Hong Kong was sold for HK$5.71 billion, smashing analysts’ expectations on the back of rising demand for luxury housing in the territory. AFP

Singapore, Malaysia. A 30-YEAR-OLD condominium at Orchard Boulevard has smashed the record for Singapore’s most expensive collective sale.

Westwood Apartments was sold recently for $435 million to Malaysian conglomerate YTL Corp. That is an eye-popping $2,525 per sq ft per plot ratio (psf ppr), including a $4.6 million development charge.

This beats record-holder The Ardmore, a 24-unit freehold property off Orchard Road - sold in June for $262 million, or $2,338 psf ppr. Owners of the 50-unit condo will each get about $8 million. Owners of two penthouses will get about $17 million each, said deal broker Savills Singapore. The deal caught the industry by surprise, given the lukewarm response to government land sales and a slowdown of collective sales, recently and follows hot on the heels of The Marq development’s record breaking $5,000 psf.

London, England Four flats overlooking Hyde Park are on sale for a rumoured £84 million each, the highest price ever asked for a British flat. The flats are part of a development at One Hyde Park, designed by Richard Rogers Partnership. They will not be ready until 2010.

Sources said today that the four penthouse flats could feature bullet proof windows, specially purified air and even “panic rooms”. The security system is believed to have been developed after consultation with the SAS. A tunnel will link the flats to the Mandarin Oriental hotel, which will provide a concierge service for the development, which contains 86 flats with prices starting at £4 million.

The complex will also have a spa, squash court and private wine-tasting facility. According to the One Hyde Park website, the scheme is “a new residential scheme whose beauty, luxury and prestige will place it in a class of its own”. The Telegraph.

Although one of the penthouses is rumoured to have already sold for £ 100 million ($210 million)