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5 horrendously expensive Shanghai mansions
Got RMB 20 million -- scratch that -- RMB 100 million handy? You might just need it as we survey the five most impressive mansions on the Shanghai market
If you’re looking to buy a home in Shanghai at the moment, well, you have our condolences.
By all accounts now is not the time for real estate deal-hunters. The onetime “Paris of the East” is now more like Manhattan -- an island of ever-pricier options, where developers snatch up affordable stock like vermin.
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“Sort of OK housing is lacking,” says George Varvitsiotis of PropGo Luxury. “There’s not really that in-between, middle-class type of focus -- the Shanghai housing market is all or nothing”
“Many places are more than RMB 20 million here actually,” says Oliver Sun, who runs Shanghai real estate company SH Place, “and there is quite a lot in the RMB 100 million range.”
If that doesn’t make you want to run for the hills (of Anhui, maybe), you might be interested in parking your cash in one of these investments, on the books at a realtor near you.
1. French Concession villa
Stats: 380 square meters, six bedrooms.
Asking price: RMB 48 million (USD$7.4 million)
The draw: The 1,500-square-meter garden, the European designer kitchen and the location: a stand-alone villa on Donghu Lu, near Changle Lu, is a rare find.
A colonial villa this size in the French Concession would normally have been spun off by developers into a boutique hotel or a mediocre restaurant, but this one has been family-owned for years.
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On top of the outdoor space, it’s got a 50-square-meter terrace, solarium and garage for your pristine Porsche Cayenne. And anyone with hair will appreciate this fact: all the usable water sources have added filters and softeners.
Fun fact: If you prefer to rent this place (asking price: RMB 150,000 a month) the current owner will provide you with a bilingual secretary as a bonus.
Agent: Oliver Sun at SH Place (+86 159 0098 7878)
2. Jing'an art deco
Stats: 270 square meters, four bedrooms.
Asking price: RMB 25 million (USD$3.85 million)
The draw: Art deco on the outside, "Elle" deco on the inside.
This “modern deco” home could be in Brussels, Cape Town, Southern California or on the pages of a design magazine, but it’s near the Four Seasons in Jing’an, which is all those places combined, yet with better dumplings.
The cool, contemporary reno brought in strategic lighting, clever storage and double-glazing. There’s also a south-facing garden and, regardless of your desire to leave all that behind, Yan’an Park nearby.
Fun fact: The vendor, a British artist who designed the new interior himself, is the first private owner of this villa since 1949.
Agent: Michael Ding at Red Dragon (+86 139 1658 4035)
3. Minhang golf retreat
Stats: 650 square meters, six bedrooms.
Asking price: RMB 52 million (USD$8 million)
The draw: Your own patch of Versailles … on a golf course in Minhang.
The Rose Garden Villas want you. And by “you,” they mean buyers with pockets so deep they don’t talk budget before the viewing. “If you have to ask [the price],” says agent George Varvitsiotis, “you probably can’t afford it.”
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This multi-acre McMansion is equipped with mahogany floors, wrought-iron balustrades, marble mantels and ornate panelling. The courtyard is large enough for a royal wedding, and there’s a Greek-revival swimming pool in the basement -- plus an equestrian centre, gym and outdoor pool in the complex.
Fun fact: Qizhong International Tennis Center, home of the ATP Masters, is next door.
Agent: George Varvitsiotis at PropGo Luxury (+852 9660 8043)
