Two California developers want to lure a buyer willing to do something no other buyer in Los Angeles history has done — pay anywhere from $50 million to $100 million for a condo.
A deal near those asking prices would break a record in the City of Angels, where public records show that not a single condo has sold for more than $22.5 million.
A rendering shows the penthouse terrace and pool at the Four Seasons Private Residences Los Angeles, which is on the market for $75 million.
Martyn Lawrence Bullard and CRTKL
A gargantuan duplex at 9000 West 3rd Street in Beverly Hills is priced at $75 million.
An LA, as the penthouse is called, came onto the market in July. It occupies the top two floors of the Four Seasons Private Residences Los Angeles, part of Genton Development Company’s ultra-luxury condominium project comprising 59 units over 12 floors.
Rendering showing the completed penthouse at the Four Seasons Residences Los Angeles.
Martyn Lawrence Bullard and CRTKL
It is the first standalone Four Seasons residence in North America and is located across from the hotel of the same name. According to the building’s website, the Crown Jewel Residence offers nearly 13,000 square feet of indoor living space and nearly 6,000 square feet of outdoor space.
Rendering of the master bedroom in the penthouse known as ONE LA.
Martyn Lawrence Bullard and CRTKL
The penthouse, which appears fully furnished in renderings used to market the unit, is actually being sold “white box”, meaning a buyer would take possession of the unit as an unfinished shell. That means no kitchen, no bathrooms, no furniture, no fixtures. It’s so empty that Billy Rose, co-founder of The Agency RE and co-listing agent on the deal, can be seen in a marketing video with his team riding bikes through the vast, rugged expanse.
At the current asking price, the unfinished unit is priced at over $5,700 per square foot. Rose told CNBC that the cost of completion varies widely depending on buyer tastes, but $8 million is a rough estimate. Some buyers, he said, actually prefer blank canvas delivery so they can customize the residence to their personal tastes.
A 19-seat IMAX theater is one of the luxurious amenities offered at Four Seasons Private Residences Los Angeles.
Martyn Lawrence Bullard and CRTKL
Building amenities include in-residence dining and housekeeping, a private 19-seat IMAX theater with access to first-run movies and private screenings, a fitness center designed by nutritionist and celebrity trainer Harley Pasternak, a pool with private cabanas and Four Seasons Staff are at your disposal according to the website.
A double shot of luxury
The other ultra-premium penthouse that grabs LA’s most exclusive air is located at 8899 Beverly Blvd in West Hollywood. It has an asking price of $50 million that can be overstated to $100 million.
The 10-story, 40-unit building, designed by architects Olson Kündig, was developed by Townscape Partners. The attic is divided into two penthouses of equal size, one on the east and the other on the west.
According to Douglas Elliman’s realtor Fredrik Eklund, who is representing the development and recently took CNBC on a tour of Penthouse East, the four-bedroom, five-bathroom residence spans approximately 6,450 square feet with 14-foot ceilings. It features motorized glass walls that slide away to reveal another nearly 1,500 square foot of outdoor space on the wraparound balcony.
In contrast to One LA, the PHE unit is delivered ready-made. it is currently being staged with furniture by ASH Staging. They’re not included in the $50 million asking price, which works out to over $7,700 per square foot.
The view from the PHE unit at 8899 Beverly Blvd, where glass walls slide away and open onto a wraparound balcony.
ASH staging
The developer has yet to officially list one of the two top floor penthouses, but has been testing the market’s appetite for PHE since at least April. At this point, the developer began marketing the unit with a $50 million price tag in what it called a whisper campaign — a term typically used to describe word-of-mouth marketing used to shop at an off-market residence.
In this case, Townscape Partners and Eklund have been whispering the deal quite loudly to the press for months. The team is concurrently shopping an even more expensive off-market deal combining both top-floor penthouses as a combo with a price tag of $100 million.
The master bedroom in the Penthouse East at 8899 Beverly Blvd.
ASH staging
The combination residence would position its owner at the highest vantage point in West Hollywood. As a pair, the penthouses deliver eight bedrooms, ten bathrooms and four kitchens – each comprising a main kitchen and an adjoining staff kitchen.
According to Eklund, the package deal brings the total indoor space to about 13,000 square feet with an additional 6,000 square feet outdoors. Building amenities include over 12,000 sq ft of outdoor space with a pool, fireplaces and dining area. There’s also a gym and yoga studio, and a fine-dining restaurant is soon to follow.
Main bathroom of the penthouse PHE.
ASH staging
The subterranean level houses what are known as car stables, a term Eklund uses to describe the building’s luxury garage. The parking lot includes mood lighting, herringbone tile floors, and parking behind sliding wood and steel doors.
The realtor told CNBC that a pair of parking spaces here would cost $750,000, but as part of the penthouse deals, the developer would be planning on a few parking spaces for free. It would also include a private garage-level penthouse-only lobby overlooking the garage, as well as seating and elevators that can take penthouse guests directly to the top floor.
The so-called car stalls on the garage level at 8899 Beverly Blvd.
DroneHub Media
Too expensive even for LA?
The $100 million question here is: Will any of these developers find a buyer willing to spend anywhere near that money on a condo?
The all-time highest price for the sale of an LA condo was at The Century Condos in Century City, where a 9,300-square-foot penthouse sold for $22.5 million, or just over $2,400 per square foot in 2015 has been closed. according to public records analyzed by Jonathan Miller, President of Miller Samuel Appraisers and Consultants.
Completed in 2009, The Century is 42 stories tall with 140 units and was designed by Robert AM Stern Architects. The development also holds the record for the most expensive condo sold last year, as “Friends” actor Matthew Perry reportedly sold his nearly 9,300-square-foot condo for $21.6 million, or just over $2,300 each square foot sold.
Believe it or not, the same building broke another record in 2010 when legendary TV producer Aaron Spelling’s widow, Candy Spelling, spent a record $34.8 million on two contiguous units that she later combined. Their mega deal covered 15,500 square feet at a price per square foot of nearly $2,250.
A rendering of the roof terrace at ONE LA.
Martyn Lawrence Bullard and CRTKL
According to current demands, a potential buyer of One LA or the penthouses at 8899 Beverly Blvd would have to make a giant leap from the records set at The Century. While Miller told CNBC that real estate markets don’t typically take drastic moves like this, something like this has happened in LA before.
The example he points to is a fragment of the city’s single-family housing stock known as ultra-luxurious custom homes. In the last decade, these properties have suddenly seen sales break through and hold the $50 million mark. Now the once unimaginable price level in the high-end equipment market is regularly broken.
“It’s a subset of the larger market that doesn’t have a linear or direct connection to what was previously the luxury market,” Miller said.
Miller says there can be a surge in a residential real estate subcategory like specialty real estate when developers convince buyers that they’ve created a new real estate product that’s so different from what existed before that it should command a significant premium .
The full-service pool area at Four Seasons Private Residences Los Angeles.
Martyn Lawrence Bullard and CRTKL
“It’s the start of a new record,” Miller said.
Rose is calling LA’s new super-luxe condominium stock “2.0,” a wave of apartments he describes as more modern, luxurious, and packed with amenities than any condo before it. He believes these are some of the reasons the units should command higher prices over the previous wave, which Rose believes includes record-breaking sales at The Century Condo.
So far, Rose’s 2.0 theory is supported by a recent sale at The Pendry Residences, another luxury condominium development in West Hollywood, where a 2,700-square-foot unit sold for $13 million, breaking through $4,800 per square foot. This is now the highest price per square ft ever for an LA condo. This record is more than double the price per square foot realized in each of the three top sales at The Century Condo.
A seating area on the wraparound balcony of the Penthouse East at 8899 Beverly Blvd.
ASH staging
Eklund believes his $100 million whisper listing can and will break an LA price record. What has already happened in New York is helping. In Central Park, he said, trophy condos have topped $10,000 and even $12,000 per square foot.
“It happens a lot, so Los Angeles is still undervalued? Maybe in the long term,” said Eklund.
Over the past decade, multiple listing service data has shown that more than 140 units have sold for $35 million in New York, compared to zero at that level in LA. But Miller adds a big caveat: The two condo markets are very different. While he said the Pendry sale is clearly a sign, this new market would need to deliver many more transactions to determine if it’s sustainable.
In other words, the developers of One LA and the Trophy Penthouses at 8899 Beverly are breaking new ground.
“This is a new market segment,” Miller said. “So we have to see how consumers react.”
A sitting area and fireplace in the East Penthouse Residence at 8899 Beverly Blvd.
ASH staging
Comments are closed.