New Record for Most Expensive Home Sale - $301 Million French Chateau

The record for the world's most expensive home just leaped into the stratosphere with the sale of a property outside Paris, Chateau Louis XIV.  The previous record for highest confirmed sales price was $221 million for a London penthouse apartment, which sold in 2011.

Chateau Louis XIV which was built by the international arms dealer Emad Khashoggi just sold for 275 million Euros ($301 million). It is rumored by reliable sources close to the sale that the buyer was from the Middle East. Christie' International was involved in brokering the sale.  Château Louis XIV was built in 2011 in the style of a 17^th-century French estate, with ceilings painted in the style of the Sistine Chapel, 56 acres of gardens, a hedged labyrinth and parterres in designs similar to Le Notre who designed the gardens at Versailles. The Chateau and its gardens meet the French standards for Historical Monuments. 

This remarkable property offers both rich old-world aesthetics and cutting edge technology: a cinema, wine cellar, lavish ballroom, underground nightclub, squash room, and an underwater room with fish and sharks swimming in the clear walls.

The provenance of the property is equally interesting. The Chateau sits between Versailles and Marly-le-Roi, on land where Louis XIV developed a palace in the 18^th century. The land was cleared in 1888 and used for agricultural purposes until 2008 when Emad Khashoggi decided to restore it to its regal heritage and build the Chateau. The project was coordinated by Cogemad, a French company that develops luxury villas in Europe, Russia, and the Middle East. The construction reportedly took 3 years. 

Cogemad says on its website that splendors of Versailles embrace the high tech revolution.  The automated high-tech controls in the Chateau are incorporated with the utmost discretion, blending invisibly with the interior’s breathtaking Grand Siècle décor: gold-leaf moldings, marble inlays, tables sculpted from solid stone,  the finest silks, hand painted frescoes, elegant metalwork, and countless other refined details. The expansive gardens feature “elegantly planted parterres, a gleaming gold-leafed fountain, an infinite array of flowers, marble statues, bridle paths, and a hedged labyrinth.

The Washington area doesn't have any homes like this, but we do have some very lovely homes with historic provenances in Georgetown, on the Eastern Shore, and in the Virginia Hunt Country.  If you are interested in the luxury market in the DC Metro area, you should be working with an agent who understands that price point. Please give Lise Howe a call to start your home search!