How far would record price for Hong Kong flat go?

A Hong Kong apartment has set the record for price per square foot in Asia.

Spanning 3,378 square feet, the five-bedroom penthouse sold this week for HK$459.4 million ($59.3 million).

That means each square foot of the apartment in the affluent Mid-Levels neighbourhood went for $17,500.

Densely packed Hong Kong routinely breaks records for both the world’s most expensive – and cramped – apartments.

So what would around $59 million get you elsewhere in the world?

One historic US estate

For those looking for a slice of American history, $60 million will purchase a chunk of George Washington’s original Mount Vernon estate in Alexandria, Virginia.

The asking price covers a 16,000-square-foot, newly-built, mock 19th-century mansion with seven bedrooms, a movie theatre, indoor swimming pool, spa, steam room and sauna, according to a Los Angeles Times report.

It also sits on 16.5 acres of the first president’s sprawling estate on the banks of the Potomac River just a few miles from Washington’s original mansion, which is now a tourist attraction. 

Two Prince pads

Last year an estate above Hollywood’s famed Sunset Strip with a particularly colorful history sold for $30 million.

The 18,000-square-foot mansion – complete with tennis courts, pool and an underground oxygenated bunker – was built in the 1950s by notorious playboy Hal B. Hayes. 

But it was a more recent tenant’s redesign that got tongues wagging in Hollywood.

According to local media NBA star Carlos Boozer rented the property to the late pop icon Prince, who gave the house a makeover without permission.

The next time Boozer visited, Prince had repainted the interior in his characteristic shades of purple and black, replaced two golden lions at the entrance with his own symbol and installed both a dance floor and a hair studio.

Boozer threatened to sue until Prince promised to return the property to its original state at the end of the tenancy, which he made good on.

Four Musk mansions

Just a stone’s throw away in the upscale Bel Air neighbourhood, $59 million goes quite some way – almost enough to buy four mansions from a billionaire suddenly embracing minimalism.

Last May, Tesla boss Elon Musk announced he planned to sell almost all physical possessions, including his handful of LA homes.

Those who thought Musk’s tweet was just another of his colorful social media outbursts soon had to eat their hats. 

By Christmas he made good on the promise, offloading all his properties including four mansions in a Bel Air cul-de-sac for $62 million. The buyer was a developer who plans to turn the properties into a single project. 

Five Scottish castles

A house hunter with $59 million in his back pocket could purchase Scotland’s most expensive private home five times over and still have change.

Seton Castle, a neoclassical pile in East Lothian by Robert Adam, has come onto the market for only the second time since 1789 with a record asking price of $11 million.

The 13-bedroom family home surrounded by 13 acres of private gardens and parkland was built with stone from Seton Palace, a building on the same estate that was the preferred retreat for Mary Queen of Scots.

Developers have recently restored the property with a few modern touches including a gym, cinema and helipad.

– AFP