Another Record Sale
By Mark MoffaManaging Editor
If it seems that just last month we were reporting on the most expensive residential property ever sold … well, we were. But now, August’s $220 million London penthouse sale has been supplanted by an even larger transaction. Reports surfaced last week that a Monte Carlo apartment sold for 199 million pounds, or about $311 million. Le Belle Epoque was sold by British property entrepreneurs Christian and Nick Candy to an unnamed Middle Eastern investor, according to reports.
The apartment was reportedly occupied by the brothers, who ironically are the developers of the One Hyde Park penthouse in Knightsbridge that made news last month. The Monte Carlo apartment occupies the top two floors of its building, and has only three bedrooms. Each bedroom, however, is a suite with its own cinema, kitchen, dressing room and two baths, according to the Financial Times. The apartment was home to financier and philanthropist Edmond Safra before he and a nurse were killed in a 1999 fire allegedly set by another nurse so he could stage a rescue.
As interesting as the history of the property may be, at Unique Homes we’re more interested in what it means for luxury real estate. There are some experts who will say that this sale means the ultra-high-end is back. While I do not believe that one sale carries nearly that much weight, the fact is that the high-end real estate market is indeed coming back — and it started before this sale.
In the U.S., Colorado’s Bootjack Ranch sold in April for $46.5 million, followed by the June sale of Le Belvédère in Bel Air, Calif., for more than $50 million. Recent Los Angeles/Westside MLS data showed that closings of homes $10 million or more were up 50 percent year over year, and closings of homes $20 million or more were up 33 percent year over year (thanks to Betty Graham, the president of COO of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Greater Los Angeles, for that data). And LA is not alone. The latest National Association of Realtors data shows that sales of homes priced at $1 million or more are up in every region of the country (6.1 percent nationally).
As we continue to muddle through our economic and housing recovery, the overall data will certainly show ups and downs. The high end, however, is looking good. I wouldn’t expect a new world record every month, but the well-heeled appear to be ready to spend on real estate again. And that’s a good thing.
