A Home for the Really Rich: Singapore Mansion List

A Home for the Really Rich: Singapore Mansion Listed for $242 Million A mansion in the heart of Singapore’s central shopping district has just gone on the market – for the low, low price of $242 million. The 85,000-square-foot site lies just near the city’s Botanic Gardens, next to the city state’s main shopping district, Orchard Road. Included in the price is a two-story home, swimming pool and tennis court. The house is also next door to the Russian and Japanese embassies and a few streets away from the home of the British high commissioner. The property is being sold by a holding company belonging to Cheng Wai Keung, chairman of the Hong Kong property developer Wing Tai Holdings. (MORE: America’s Most Expensive Home Listed for $135 Million) “These kinds of assets come onto the market once in 10, 15 or even 20 years,” Karamjit Singh, head of investments and residential at real estate company Jones Lang LaSalle in Singapore, told Bloomberg. “This is beyond economics,” said Alan Cheong, a senior director of property broker Savills (Singapore) Pte, of the astronomical asking price. “It’s mind boggling and probably one of the highest in the world.” Cheong speculates that the property could prove attractive to a foreign billionaire — perhaps an Indian or Russian tycoon — but the market for such a pricey chunk of real estate isn’t huge. “It’s no small change even for the ultra-high net worth [individual],” he said. Others speculate that the property could be broken up and sold in several lots. Comparatively, the most expensive home for sale in the U.S., a Dallas mansion belonging to former Texas Rangers owner Tom Hicks, is on the market for  a mere $135 million. It offers 42,500 sq. ft. of living space spread across a five-story main residence, three-story pool house and two-story guesthouse, all nestled amid 25 acres of lush landscaping. (By contrast, the Singapore property’s footprint is just under two acres.) Singapore and Hong Kong, Asia’s largest financial hubs, are the most expensive housing markets in the region and have some of the highest property prices in the world. MORE: Bruce Lee’s Hong Kong Home

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