$220 Million London Sale Illustrates Value in U.S.
By Mark Moffa
Managing Editor
The big news last week in real estate was the sale of a London penthouse at One Hyde Park for $220 million, according to the Daily Telegraph. The new development has been highly successful. Its 86 properties start at more than $31 million. Yet, according to the report, 65 percent of the units already have sold in the four-tower complex, which should be completed by the end of this year.
The six-bedroom apartment at One Hyde Park in Knightsbridge encompasses two floors and is protected by bullet-proof windows, a panic room and Special Air Service guards, the Telegraph reports. Owners in the development will enjoy 24-hour room service from the neighboring Mandarin Oriental hotel.
News of this project’s success is especially interesting in light of Kathleen Carlin-Russell’s Critique last week on the rise of wealth. I also unearthed an interesting commentary on One Hyde Park from early 2008 on FinFacts, in which Knight Frank’s Head of Residential Research, Liam Bailey, addressed One Hyde Park’s success. He predicted that the ultra-luxury sector would remain strong and noted that the super rich already were weathering the credit crunch “far better than most commentators would have thought possible.” More than two years later, his analysis seems right on.
U.S. sales prices seem paltry in comparison, with the high for this year at well less than $100 million, as Camilla McLaughlin noted in her Top of The Tweets blog this week on UniqueHomes.com. But we must break out of our U.S.-centric perspective for a moment to realize the impact of high prices abroad on the U.S. market.
For example, here at Unique Homes, we are currently planning our Global issue for 2010, which not only will showcase properties from around the world, but will feature editorial content aimed at shedding light on the world’s real estate. The fact is, sales of this nature will just make U.S. ultra-luxury properties even more attractive to many overseas buyers.
