The World's Most Expensive Homes Sold in 2024

The year 2024 produced a cluster of residential transactions that, even by the elevated standards of the post-pandemic prime property market, were remarkable. The headline was the sale of a Palm Beach oceanfront estate at $190 million — the highest price ever achieved for a residential property in the United States and the second-highest globally. The buyer: a private family office from the Middle East. The seller: a technology entrepreneur who had purchased the land in 2018 for $18 million and spent six years constructing a 42,000-square-foot compound with 11 bedrooms, a private marina, a 12,000-bottle wine cellar, and a helipad capable of accommodating a Sikorsky S-76.

In Europe, the standout transaction was the sale of a full-floor penthouse in one of Monaco's newest super-prime towers for a reported €300 million, a figure that, if confirmed, would represent the highest price per square metre ever paid for a residential property anywhere in the world. The buyer's identity has not been disclosed; Monaco's privacy laws ensure it is unlikely to emerge. What is known is that the property encompasses approximately 1,800 square metres across two floors connected by a private lift, with 360-degree views of the principality, the Mediterranean, and the Maritime Alps. The interior was designed by a studio whose previous commissions include private residences for several of the world's wealthiest families.

In Asia, Hong Kong's Peak district — long considered one of the world's most exclusive residential addresses — produced its most significant transaction in three years: a hilltop villa with unobstructed harbour views that sold for HK$1.2 billion ($154 million). The sale, handled off-market by Savills Hong Kong, represented a partial rehabilitation of confidence in the SAR's super-prime market following several years of subdued activity driven by geopolitical uncertainty and emigration. Industry observers interpreted it as a signal that a specific segment of international capital — particularly from Southeast Asia — remains willing to commit at the very top of the Hong Kong market.