In the US, we usually think of apartments as rental properties. The most expensive apartments, like condominiums, are purchased outright.
One Hyde Park penthouse – $220 million
The four penthouse apartments atop London’s most luxurious address sold well before its construction finished. The buildings, developed by Candy & Candy and funded by Qatar’s foreign minister, include eighty apartments designed by architect Richard Rogers. It features communal spas, squash courts, a private wine-tasting facility and a top notch security force staffed by former members of the British SAS. The building cost £1.5 billion (around $3 billion USD in 2008) to develop.
The most expensive of them, a six-bedroom penthouse, sold for £140 million (about $220 million) in 2010. The two-storey apartment has security features of its own, including bulletproof glass and a panic room.
La Belle Epoque penthouse – $308 million
This Monacan apartment is perhaps best known as the apartment where Lebanese banker Edmond Safra’s life was claimed in an act of arson perpetrated by his nurse. Despite its grisly past, the penthouse at Le Belle Epoque (literally “The Beautiful Era”) has become not only the world’s most expensive apartment but also the world’s most expensive private residence. Its noteworthy amenities include a game room with billiards tables and arcade games, a Jacuzzi and spa, cinema screens hidden in the walls, a two-storey library and a media room with chairs that convert into beds. Its security features include a panic room with reinforced glass and surveillance cameras.
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I’m curious if these are ‘Apartments’ or condominiums? It sounds as if you have to purchase these rather than simply rent them.
MAN, sound like this is the high rent distric to me. Get real..
Sounds like a condo to me… One time payment.
I wonder what the worlds most expensive monthly payment is on an apartment.
About 15 years ago I had the pleasure of seeing the most expensive apt in NYC, the triplex penthouse at the Pierre Hotel, the asking price at the time was $19 million but more importantly the monthly charges which include NYC taxes etc was $27K a month.
I would give anything to live in the hyde park penthouse