Mega-rich on a global hunt to collect prize property assets
The Woolworth Building’s Pinnacle Penthouse’ in Manhattan plans to sell for US$110 million – about what you could spend on a house on Mount Nicholson on The Peak in Hong Kong
Built in 1912 with a classic, extravagant facade, the Woolworth Building’s “Pinnacle Penthouse” in New York’s Manhattan – which Alchemy Properties plans to sell for US$110 million (HK$858 million) – has drawn strong market attention since first being listed in September.
The 9,710-square-feet of elegance consists of five storeys and a private observatory – for the same price you could have bought a slightly smaller house at 9,455 sq ft, House 6 at Mount Nicholson on The Peak in Hong Kong, which sold for HK$830 million (US$106.37 million).
“It’s inexpensive compared with Hong Kong properties in terms of location, history, size, uniqueness, architecture, design and style,” insists Binoche Chan, chief operating officer at List Sotheby’s International Realty, recently launched in Hong Kong.
Some “sophisticated buyers” have been “collecting unique properties to appreciate their quality and fineness”, she added.
American celebrities, or those from other places who “got rich early” and parked their money everywhere in the world, are the most popular buyers, thus avoiding local market fluctuations and capital restrictions put in place.
Chan said these consider such properties as holiday homes and come from a variety of backgrounds.