The most expensive house sale in Australia is $100M (about $68M USD) and the most expensive Apartment sale is an unconfirmed amount of $140M ($95M USD) at Barangaroo NSW, that is not to say that there are not more expensive properties, they just have not sold yet. I thought it would be interesting to have a look around the planet to see what some of the record prices for property are and how they compare to Australia.
The United States was the obvious starting point. The US highest price for a property is $220M USD ($323M AUD) for a 4-level apartment in Manhattan. A hedge fund manager purchased it. Once I look up what a hedge fund manager does, I am changing careers. The most expensive house sale is $177M USD ($260M AUD) for a 7-acre property in Malibu, California. At that price, you should be able to afford the $1.8M USD ($2.65M AUD) property tax bill leach year.
Early in 2022, a property in Los Angeles known as The One, hit the market for $295M USD ($433M AUD). And yes, if you are wondering, it does come with its own bowling alley, cigar lounge and library, beauty salon, cinema, private night club, putting green, wellness centre, juice bar and multiple pools plus six lifts.
If you are considering a career change into acting, then Hugh Jackman may inspire you. The Wolverine has just listed his Manhattan apartment with an asking price of $38.9M USD ($57M AUD). Jackman paid $21M USD ($31M AUD) in 2008 for the apartment. Not a bad return, let’s hope the US housing market does not crash on him.
In England, the most expensive house sold for £200M ($350M AUD) for a 45-bedroom mansion in London, known as Mayfair. Yes, I now understand the importance of the Monopoly board. Spare a thought for the purchaser who is about to expend $125M AUD on renovations. Try putting that into context, $125M AUD on renos compared to Australia’s most expensive house sold for $100M AUD.
Just in case you are wondering what the value of Buckingham Palace in London might be, how does about $4.25B AUD sound? For that, you get to be in the city of Westminster, London, and you can choose from 775 rooms including 240 bedrooms, 78 bathrooms, 92 offices and 19 staterooms. It has been the official residence of the monarchy since 1873.
In terms of size, the palace is approximately 77,000 square metres and the garden alone is 16 Hectares (40 acres). And just for the sake of comparison, coming in at number 2 is a property called Antilla, referred to as a house, in Mumbai India. Its estimated value is $1.46B AUD. The property was built for India’s richest man, Mukesh Ambani.
The 37,000 square metre building is 27 stories high and positioned in Mumbai’s Cumballa Hill neighbourhood. It has been built to withstand an earthquake of magnitude 8 on the Richter scale. Inside the house, there are 6 dedicated car parking floors, not to mention it has its own service station for the cars. Of course, it has a temple so you can count your lucky blessings, a 50-seat movie theatre and 9 elevators, just in case 8 of them break down. Let’s not forget the health spa, 3 helipads, a salon, a ballroom and yoga studio, an ice-cream room and multiple cinemas plus a snow room that spits out snowflakes. You will need 27 stories to house the at least 600 staff to keep things running smoothly for you.
You are probably depressed by now, so I’ll stop.
Meanwhile back at the ranch in glorious Sydney, former Casino boss Rob Rankin has reportedly sold his Woollahra house for $35M. Not a bad return when you consider it was purchased in 2003 for $6.825M. Over on the other side of the Sydney Harbour Bridge at Milsons Point, Nicole Kidman continues to collect apartments in her building, owning 5 now with her latest purchase of a one-bedroom apartment for $1.35M on the 5th floor.
So, there goes another month, let’s see how the Reserve Bank performs in August.