Up for grabs in Hong Kong is what is now being touted as the world’s most expensive home for sale. Developer Sun Hung Kai Properties is offering a super-deluxe house on The Peak for a record 23, 000 U.S. dollars, per square foot.
It’s big, but not that big—just over 4,660 square feet.
It has four bedrooms, so it’s no sultan’s palace.
There’s a private pool, a garden, a terrace and a carport for two cars. Nice amenities, but nothing on paper that screams ultra-luxury.
It’s the address. As they say in the real estate business—“location, location … location!”
This is where the most expensive home in the world sits—right in Hong Kong’s exclusive Victoria’s Peak neighborhood, located on the highest mountain on the island. House No. 1, the penthouse, is being sold by property developer Sun Hung Kai for over 105 million US dollars.
That’s nearly 23, 000 US dollars per square foot, making it the world’s most expensive home for its size. If someone pays the asking price, it’ll be the most expensive home ever sold in Hong Kong, which Forbes ranks as the world’s third most expensive city—ahead of Tokyo, London, Singapore and New York.
So what else could you buy with $105 million? Well, around 30 of these Caribbean islands. This one’s owned by Johnny Depp.
Luxury homeowner Janeth Weil, who has been living in Hong Kong for 19 years, couldn’t believe the asking price when she viewed the property.
She has been living here in her own mansion with six thousand square feet of space on adjacent Lamma Island in Hong Kong.
“Twelve Peaks’ prices are, in my opinion, highly inflated. I will not buy there as I fear that the return-on-investment will be slow, if ever. Even if I buy and use it as my primary home I still would want to make sure, given the huge investment that the property will appreciate nicely over time. But chances are, with the inflated pricing, it is more a risk than an asset to have,”Janeth Weil said.
As investments go, mega-purchase like this one could be risky.
While housing prices soared in London, Manhattan and Sydney over the twelve months ending in June, prices fell in in Singapore and Hong Kong.
But if there is a property bubble here, it doesn’t appear to be close to bursting. The last record-setting price paid for a home was also here on “The Peak.” The six thousand square foot mansion fetched over 103 million U-S dollars in 2011.
David Ji of Knight Frank says despite government intervention to cool the market, demand on “The Peak” has remained resilient.
“It was possible the huge price-tag was designed to get the attention of overseas buyers. It’s not surprising that it’s selling for an astronomical price given the limited supply on the Peak. It’s an investment class of its own. It would still be attractive to wealthy mainland Chinese looking to put their money abroad,” David Ji said.
What could make it a little less attractive is the tax. A prospective buyer paying full price will have to shell out around 13 million US dollars extra in taxes.