Penthouse Buyers Pay Premiums In Hong Kong, London, New York
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Penthouse Buyers Pay Premiums In Hong Kong, London, New York

But house hunters will find comparably more space in the aerie in cities like Singapore.

By Liz Lucking
Tue, Aug 3, 2021 10:27amGrey Clock 2 min

Across some of the world’s largest cities, trophy-home hunters can expect to pay the largest premium for the prestige of securing a penthouse in Hong Kong according to a report Monday from Knight Frank.

A top-tier unit in the city comes with a 59% price premium per square foot, the highest surcharge of any of the five top global markets analyzed by the estate agency and property consultant, which compared the cost and size of a penthouse unit to the average of the rest of the units in the same development.

Despite the upcharge, a penthouse buyer in Hong Kong will only get a footprint that’s 48% larger than their less-exclusive neighbours, the smallest size premium of the cities analyzed. 

“Exclusivity and privacy underpin values, and local factors such as the configuration of developments and sales technique mean [price] premiums in various cities can differ by as much as 50%,” Flora Harley, partner of residential research at Knight Frank, said in the report.

Penthouse price and size premiums

Knight Frank

“What we have noticed is that the larger the space differential, the smaller the price premium,” Ms. Harley said. “For example, of the cities analyzed, Singapore penthouses command the smallest premium, with an average of 7%, yet they are, on average, almost three times the size of their counterparts—in Hong Kong penthouses are only around 50% larger.”

Penthouses in London came with the second-most significant price upcharge at 43% and New York City ranked third at 41%, according to the data,

All three cities ranked above the global average penthouse price premium of 35% per square foot. Typically, penthouses globally will be an average of 129% larger than their counterparts.

Reprinted by permission of Mansion Global. Copyright 2021 Dow Jones & Company. Inc. All Rights Reserved Worldwide. Original date of publication: August 2, 2021.



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Blending brutalist strength with warm, refined interiors, Rumah is a bold architectural statement in Brighton’s coastal enclave — a designer family home where luxury meets liveability.

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Rumah means “home” in Indonesian and Malay, and it’s clear this designer property in Melbourne’s coveted beachside enclave of Brighton is a dream house in any language.

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Created to be a great entertainer while maintaining a level of discreet privacy, Rumah is, at its heart, a warm, family-friendly home that ticks all the boxes for detail-oriented design connoisseurs.

A palette of contradictions, Rumah blends angular and rounded forms, features hard steel and glass, and effortlessly incorporates the earthy finishes of brick and timber for a holistic sensory experience.

Beyond the oversized pivot door sits a large structural column wrapped in gold leaf, setting the tone for the rest of the residence. The three-storey layout offers a choice of multigenerational spaces, from the ground-floor everyday living level to the accommodation wing on the top floor and the large basement “clubhouse.”

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Positioned on the corner of William and Halifax Sts, the 21st-century beach house is opposite William St Reserve, close to Brighton Primary School.

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