The wealthy were taking advantage of the housing market in 2011, snagging homes at record-breaking prices particularly in markets like San Francisco, Manhattan, and the Hamptons.

“We think the reason the high-end market is doing well is [that] investors think this is the bottom of the market,” Philip A. White, chief operating officer of Sotheby’s International Realty, a network of luxury real estate companies, told BusinessWeek in a recent article.

Here’s a recap of some of this year’s “blockbuster sales” in the luxury home market, according to BusinessWeek:

? Russian tech billionaire Yuri Milner earlier this year purchased a 25,500 square foot single-family home in Silicon Valley for $100 million, the highest price paid for a single-family home in the U.S. (Read more: Priciest Home in the Nation Sells for $100 Million)

? Proving that not all REOs come cheap, in December, a bank-owned penthouse overlooking San Francisco’s Art District sold for $28 million, making it the priciest condo sale in the city’s history. The final sales price of the home was a fraction of the $70 million price that the original owner first tried listing the condo at back in 2008 before the home fell into foreclosure. Bank of America, which then took possession of the condo, originally listed the home at $35 million before agreeing to the $28 million sales price. (Read more: Priciest REO Sold)

? The Spelling Manor, the mega-house belonging to the late Aaron Spelling widow Candace Spelling, lingered on the market since 2008 before finally selling this year for a whopping $85 million. The Holmby Hills, Calif., home was originally listed for a record $150 million, marking a 43.3 percent discount at time of sale. The home made headlines this year when it sold to Petra Ecclestone, the 22-year-old daughter of Formula One Chief Executive Bernie Ecclestone.

? At $13,000 per square foot, the sale of a 6,744-square-foot apartment in New York City is shattering records. Russian billionaire Dmitriy Rybolovlev is reportedly paying the full asking price of $88 million for a New York City condo for his 22-year-old daughter, considered the highest individual transaction ever recorded in New York City. (Read more: Record $88 Million Sale for NYC Condo)

Source: “In 2011, Rich Homebuyers Went Bargain Hunting,” Bloomberg BusinessWeek (Dec. 20, 2011)
Daily Real Estate News | Tuesday, December 27, 2011