In the world of residential real estate, there was a time when listings for apartments in the low eight figures were the stuff of news and set brokers and deep-pocketed buyers abuzz.
Now, no more.
The top end of the ultra-exclusive market has a glut of condominiums that easily cost upward of $30 million and sometimes significantly higher.
“Previously, big-ticket properties were ranches, estates, or private islands. Today, you see them in condos, which are often new developments,” says Stan Ponte, a senior global real estate advisor with Sotheby’s International Realty.
Penthouse properties, in particular, he says, command eyebrow-raising prices with their views and their prestigious position as a building’s highest-floor home.
Take Palazzo di Paradiso, a $59 million, two-story penthouse at The Estates at Acqualina, in Sunny Isles, Florida. The 17,000-square-foot residence is modeled after a contemporary Italian palazzo and has nine bedrooms plus terraces large enough to host 50-person sit-down dinners. Oh, and we can’t forget to mention that the home comes with a $3.2 million furniture allowance so that the lucky owner can go to town outfitting their new space.
Acqualina’s co-owner and developer Jules Trump says that his objective with Palazzo di Paradiso was to create the world’s finest penthouse. “It’s meant to be an extraordinary experience, not a mere home,” he says. “It’s a place for families, couples, and anyone who loves to live large and entertain.”
Using the property as a benchmark, we’ve rounded up other penthouses around the world where the price of entry is at least $50 million but spans to $250 million in one instance as well.
Our list of eight examples follows:
The lofty penthouse at The Estates at Acqualina.
The Estates at Acqualina, Palazzo di Paradiso, Sunny Isles, Florida
Scheduled to be completed in the first quarter of 2022, this two-story penthouse is the showpiece of The Estates at Acqualina, a 50-story residential development in Sunny Isles debuting this fall. Reminiscent of a contemporary Italian palazzo, the nine-bedroom home comes with a $3.2 million furniture allowance and has white marble floors, 21-foot-high ceilings, and 360-degree panoramas of water. The two terraces are large enough to host 50-person sit-down meals, and each has a pool. Owners have private elevator access to the penthouse and also get a four-car air-conditioned private garage and a poolside cabana furnished by Fendi Casa. Amenities at The Estates include multiple pools, a soccer field, a dog park, a bocce court, a basketball court, a gym, a spa, the first South Florida arrival of the New York eatery Avra, along with lobbies designed by the late Karl Lagerfeld, and a house Rolls-Royce.
