12:00 16.01.2007 | All news from "Residential property news and information"
New Jersey Estate Tops '06 List Of Most-Expensive Homes Sold
By Amy Hoak
From MarketWatch
An English-style, Alpine, N.J., residence with guest cottages, pool and tennis courts was the most expensive home sold in the United States in 2006, the Institute for Luxury Home Marketing said Monday.
The 63-acre estate, located five miles from Manhattan, sold for $58 million and was bought by Advanced Photonix CEO Richard Kurtz, according to a news release. Henry Clay Frick II was the seller. The property included a 10,000-square-foot mansion. The price was substantially lower than 2005's biggest sale, the record-setting $70 million sale of financier Ron Perelman's Palm Beach, Fla., oceanfront estate, according to the institute.
That said, sales of homes priced at $5 million and greater were on the rise in 2006, the group reported. And at least 10 buyers throughout the country were willing to shell out $28 million or more for high-end residences last year.
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"Strong corporate profits, good news on Wall Street and a global commodities boom helped grow fortunes and sparked a surge of demand for trophy homes in 2006," said Waco Moore, vice president of The Institute for Luxury Home Marketing, in the release. The group trains real-estate sales agents who work in the luxury market.
"Final numbers aren't in, but estimates are that the U.S.'s 2006 sales of homes priced at $5 million and above were up about 11% over 2005," he said.
Moore went on to predict that recent Wall Street bonuses would provide a "jump start" to luxury sales in New York in 2007, and that other markets would follow.
The priciest home currently for sale is the $139 million Updown Court in Windlesham, England. The home, near Windsor Castle, boasts 103 rooms, five pools and a heated marble driveway, according to the release.
Also on the market: A Saudi Prince's Aspen, Colo., retreat priced at $135 million and Donald Trump's "decorator-ready" Palm Beach, Fla., property priced at $125 million, the group said. A waterfront home in Istanbul is available for $100 million. Domestically, a $100 million waterfront estate with views of Lake Tahoe is also on the market.
According to the institute, the most expensive home ever sold was a London mansion, bought by steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal in 2004. The home sold for $125 million.