Photographs: Keith Bedford/Reuters
When it comes to ultra premium houses, it’s not just the location that determines the real estate prices but also the people staying next to you.
Take for example, London’s Kensington Palace Gardens that is home to one of India’s richest man Lakshmi Mittal. The property prices in the area shot up since the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (and new Prince George) moved there.
One square metre in Kensington Palace Gardens now costs Rs 67 lakh.
Let’s look at the most expensive localities in the world and the people who stay there.
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World's 10 most expensive residential areas
Photographs: Courtesy, Plaza Athenee
Avenue Montaigne
City: Paris
Country: France
Rank: 10
Average price per square metre: $26,000 (apprx Rs 16 lakh)
Price change year on year: -3 per cent
Neighbours: Canadian Embassy, Marlene Dietrich (before her death in 1992)
Avenue Montaigne is an exclusive residential neighbourhood for France’s wealthy and famous.
Located in the 8th arrondissement in the Champs Elysees quarter, this 350-year-old avenue is steeped in cultural history.
The street is also home to upscale hotelPlaza Athenee.
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World's 10 most expensive residential areas
Photographs: A. Balet/Wikimedia Commons
Fifth Avenue
City: New York
Country: US
Rank: 9
Average price per square metre: $ 28,000 (apprx Rs 17.6 lakh)
Price change year on year: +5.4 per cent
Neighbours: Bill Murray, Tom Brokaw
New York’s rich and famous have flocked to Fifth Avenue since the 1900s for its exclusive cachet and central location.
The most-expensive properties are those sold along the stretch between 59th and 96th, where the street fronts leafy Central Park.
The street is home to the most iconic landmark buildings and shopping centres in the US, including the EmpireStateBuilding, the RockefellerCenter and Saks.
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World's 10 most expensive residential areas
Photographs: NVO/Wikimedia Commons
Ostozhenka
City: Moscow
Country: Russia
Rank: 8
Average price per square metre: $29,000 (apprx Rs 18 lakh)
Price change year on year: +3.6 per cent
Neighbours: Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov
Ostozhenka in downtown Moscow is one of the oldest streets in Russia and its most expensive.
Dotted with Art Nouveau buildings and famous landmarks, including The Kremlin, the PushkinMuseum and the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, this street is Muscovite heritage at its finest.
The most-expensive apartment ever sold on Ostozhenka Street was a five-level property of 1,240 square metres located in Crystal House for $48 million.
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World's 10 most expensive residential areas
Photographs: Courtesy, Hotel Cala di Volpe
Romazzino Hill
Place: Sardinia
Country: Italy
Rank: 7
Average price per square metre: $32,900 (apprx Rs 20.6 lakh)
Price change year on year: stable
Neighbours: Saudi Arabian politician Ahmed Zaki Yamani, Ural steel tycoon Alexei Mordashov, and Qatar royal family members
The Aga Khan turned the Costa Smerelda, Sardinia, into his holiday retreat in the 1960s; ever since then it has been known as the quintessential billionaire’s holiday playground.
On the region’s most-sought-after road, the winding Romazzino Hill, expect to pay an average price of $40,591 per square metre.
Some of the location’s most-exclusive hotels include the Cala di Volpe and the Romazzino, both part of The Luxury Collection.
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World's 10 most expensive residential areas
Image: Cologny street.Photographs: Archibald Tuttle/Wikimedia Commons
Chemin de Ruth
City: Geneva
Country: Switzerland
Rank: 6
Average price per square metre: $37,000 (apprx Rs 23 lakh)
Price change year on year: -5 per cent
Neighbours: France’s Peugeot family, former French tennis player Henri Leconte and former French alpine-skier Jean-Claude Killy
Located in the heart of Switzerland’s Cologny, close to the shores of Lake Geneva, the prestigious Chemin de Ruth is Switzerland’s most-expensive street.
The mansions on this stone-walled street come with more land than most other streets of Cologny, many with beautiful landscaped gardens and large swimming pools.
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World's 10 most expensive residential areas
Image: An exclusive residential project The Marq located at Paterson Hill.Photographs: Courtesy, SC Global Developments
Paterson Hill
Country: Singapore
Rank: 5
Average price per square metre: $42,500 (apprx Rs 26.7 lakh)
Price change year on year: +6.5 per cent
Neighbours: Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin and former Miss Singapore beauty queen Rachel Kum
Paterson Hill is widely considered the city-state’s ‘Billionaire’s Row’. Prices here have jumped in the last year, largely down to currency fluctuations.
Paterson Hill is located in the prestigious district 09, a tranquil residential area within close proximity to the well-known Orchard Road Shopping Belt with its collection of designer boutiques and Michelin-starred restaurants.
The most-expensive condominium on this road is The Marq, which features one highlight condo with interiors designed by Hermes, and a private lap pool cantilevered outside each apartment.
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World's 10 most expensive residential areas
Photographs: Courtesy, Grand-Hotel du Cap-Ferrat
Boulevard du General de Gaulle
Location: Cap Ferrat
Country: France
Rank: 4
Average price per square metre: $79,000 (apprx Rs 49.6 lakh)
Price change year on year: -5 per cent
Neighbours: Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie; David Niven and Paul Allen reportedly own holiday homes, as did Charlie Chaplin
The highly exclusive peninsula of Cap Ferrat may be the most-sought-after piece of land along the Mediterranean Cote d’Azur, resulting in it being the world’s priciest non-urban location.
Situated about 15km from Monaco, the Cap, as it is affectionately known, has long been a Mecca for the rich and famous.
It is also home to luxury hotels, including the famous Grand-Hotel du Cap-Ferrat with its Michelin-starred restaurant, Le Cap.
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World's 10 most expensive residential areas
Photographs: Christian Hartmann/Reuters
Avenue Princesse Grace
Country: Monaco
Rank: 3
Average price per square metre: $86,000 (apprx Rs 54 lakh)
Price change year on year: +5 per cent
Neighbours: Andrea Bocelli, Roger Moore, Lewis Hamilton, and Helena Christensen
The most-exclusive street in this tiny principality is iconic Avenue Princesse Grace, which winds along the sea front.
Due to finite space, the majority of developments on this street are now rental-only so a premium is often paid for recent builds such as the Mirabeau and number 21 Avenue Princesse Grace.
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World's 10 most expensive residential areas
Image: A general view of a house along Kensington Palace Gardens.Photographs: Oli Scarff/Getty Images
Kensington Palace Gardens
City: London
Country: UK
Rank: 2
Average price per square metre: $107,000 (apprx Rs 67 lakh)
Price change year on year: +2 per cent
Neighbours: The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (and new Prince George), Lakshmi Mittal, and Bernie Ecclestone’s daughter Tamara
Widely considered London’s ‘Billionaire’s Row’, leafy KensingtonPalaceGardens is the world’s second-most-expensive street.
Here, properties change hands for as much as 122 million pounds (US$195 million).
No doubt the street’s latest arrivals, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, have helped boost prices.
This private, tree-lined avenue is home to the French, Russian and Japanese embassies among others, and some of the world’s most famous billionaires.
Indian-born steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal owns number 9a and 18-19.
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World's 10 most expensive residential areas
Photographs: Daniel Case/Wikimedia Commons
Pollock’s Path
Location: The Peak
Country: Hong Kong
Rank: 1
Average price per square metre: $120,000 (apprx Rs 75.4 lakh)
Price change year on year: +10% per cent
Neighbours: Stephen Chow, HSBC top brass
With its panoramic views over Hong KongIsland and VictoriaHarbour, the prestigious Pollock’s Path on The Peak is the world’s most-expensive street.
Records were set, not only for this road but for Hong Kong overall, when, in 2011, an apartment sold for HK$800 million ($103 million).
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