The pinnacle of prestige

Extravagant parties, lofty views, beautiful people: F. Scott Fitzgerald's Jay Gatsby made penthouse living glamorous and, still today, life at the top is pure opulence for many.

Penthouse apartments command premium prices in the world's ritziest cities - in prime central London, as revealed in a new report, they are also a canny investment.

CBRE has released an in-depth study of the London penthouse market, a sector which has soared in value since the prime residential market began to recover from the global property crash.

The report, Penthouse London: Paying a Premium for Perfection, reveals that the value of penthouses on the market in London exceeds £1 billion (HK$12 billion). And, according to Mark Collins, chairman, CBRE Residential, they're the London home of choice of wealthy foreign investors.

"Penthouses of the quality on sale in London now cement the capital's new status as a home-from-home for the superrich, as well as providing an invaluable store for their wealth," Collins says. "With the burgeoning volume of billionaires in the world and the increasingly international appeal of prime London real estate, we anticipate that the penthouse market will continue to be a very exciting and elusive space."

While the research doesn't drill down to the penthouse buyers specifically, a Knight Frank report earlier this year shows that among foreign buyers of central London properties, Singaporeans are the most active, buying 23 per cent of the homes sold, followed by Hong Kong residents (16 per cent) and mainlanders (5 per cent). CBRE has found that investors from Hong Kong have a detailed knowledge of London, and are open to "new" prime growth opportunities outside of the typical golden postcodes, traditionally Kensington/Chelsea and Westminster. "They will consider new areas like the City of London [such as the penthouse at Roman House, within London's Square Mile], where there is good potential for value growth."

Alex Christian, director, residential, Savills Knightsbridge, agrees that penthouses in central London are extremely desirable. "They very often come with large terraces which are highly sought after as it's rare to get good usable outside space with the same degree of privacy. Buyers are also drawn to the fact that nobody will be living above them in a penthouse. Most apartments in London are converted houses and, therefore, sound insulation is traditionally poor. Security is also a factor as the top floor is seen as being the most protected."