For most people, buying a house is enough. I mean, you get a new (or new to you) home to decorate and inhabit and make memories in. For billionaires, it takes a bit more to entice them to part with their money for a new residence. High-end estates come with some insane perks like Lamborghinis, helicopters, and yachts. The most expensive and exclusive home out there comes with a whole lot of toys to attract not just buyers, but buyers seeking a certain kind of lifestyle. The real estate agents representing these properties aren't just selling mansions, they are selling dreams.
Developers and brokers must constantly up their games when it comes to marketing mansions and luxury penthouses to a wider and wealthier audience. From giving properties names to created Hollywood style trailers for the estates, buyers of these $30 million to $1 billion homes expect the best.
Nile Niami is a former movie producer who is the CEO of Skyline Development. He is the man behind The One in Bel Air and Opus in Beverly Hills. He is in the risky business of building spec mansions in some of LA's hottest and priciest neighborhoods. The One is a 105,000 square foot, fully furnished 20-bedroom mansion with five swimming pools, a bowling alley, helipad, casino, nightclub with its own VIP access, and a lounge with walls made of tanks full of jelly fish. The One is on the market for $500 million.
The Opus is tiny in comparison. At 20,500 square feet, the $100 million mansion originally included a 170 bottle Cristal vault, Damien Hirst paintings, and an exotic car museum with 10 cars including a gold Rolls Royce Dawn and Aventador Roadster. That didn't exactly fly with buyers so Niami got rid of the cars and some of the art and slashed the price to $68 million.
All those extras are called a vibe and rock star Lenny Kravitz's interior design firm specializes in it. Kravitz Design created the interiors for the $38 million Hollywood Hills home called The Stanley House. The home has a night club vibe with mood lighting, velvet couches, and a state of the art audio system.
The highest-priced properties used to sell themselves. After all, it takes a certain kind of buyer to drop $30 million or more on a 10,000 square foot or larger home. However, today's competition to sell these estates is stiff. The incentives developers built into the properties sets them apart.
The $39 million Regalia Penthouse in Sunny Isles Beach, Florida comes with a $500,000 rare pink diamond. Nearby, Porsche Design Tower has a custom car elevator that brings the homeowner's pricey cards from the lobby to the doorstep of the condo, no matter what floor it is on. Delray Beach's $20 million Sundara estate includes a replica of a Chanel boutique for a dressing room and a walk-in Nike Air Jordan sneaker man cave.
At the Turnberry Ocean Club, your $3.9 to $35 million property comes with a free one year membership to Turnberry Isle Resort's Country Club, private jets, and marina access.
The $35 million palatial Renaissance mansion The Palazzetto is located inside Rome's Palazzo Albertoni Spinola will go up for auction in October and offer 50% off property taxes, Renaissance frescoes, and a professional staff that includes attorneys, architects, accountants, a property manager, and a handyman.
What will the developers of this mega mansions with high price tags think of next?