Most ‘expensive home in the world’ is in the UK – beating New York, Hong Kong and Japan
THE ‘world’s most expensive home’ is found in the UK after it beat off competition from properties in New York and Japan.
The exclusive resort of Sandbanks has become the most expensive place in the world to buy property after a waterside bungalow sold for a record £13.5m.
The luxurious four-bed home had been in the same family for 117 years after a Victorian botanist bought a piece of land on the peninsula in Poole Harbour for about £1,000.
Known as North Haven Point, the chalet bungalow was extended in the 1950s and has a floor space of just 2,909sq ft.
And it has become the most expensive home in the world when measuring the cost per square foot.
The price paid for it equates to £4,640 per square foot, beating off the value of property in Monaco, Hong Kong and New York.
According to a 2022 survey by estate agents Savills, Monaco was the most desirable place in the world for property which sells for the equivalent of £4,374 per square foot.
Hong Kong was next at £3,775 followed by New York (£2,150), Geneva (£1,875), Tokyo (£1,850), Shanghai (£1,850) and London (£1,741).
The jaw-dropping home occupies a 1.4 acre corner plot, by far the biggest piece of real estate on the Millionaires’ Row.
The ground floor boasts a living room, dining room and kitchen, utility rooms, store room, pantry and office.
And the first floor, which was extended in the 1950s, has the master en-suite bedroom, a guest bedroom suite and two more bedrooms.
New owner Tom Glanfield is a self-made multi-millionaire who started a recruitment business 20 years ago with a student loan.
Mr Glanfield, aged in his early 40s, described the potential for the property as ‘huge’.
But he plans to demolish the bungalow and replace it with a luxurious eco home that will cost at least £5m to build.
The investment will also see the upgrading of the sea defence walls at the bottom of the garden.
Due to its corner location, the property will have a stunning 270 degree view of Poole Harbour, the world’s second biggest natural harbour behind Sydney.
Mr Glanfield posted on social media: “Proud to take my own small slice of Sandbanks. It’s nothing fancy, but I fought hard for it and the potential is huge. Got some work to be done ahead, like repairing all the sea defences.
“But I fell in love immediately with the view and its rustic charm, could sit at the end of the garden and never want to move again.”
Sandbanks – Britain’s answer to Miami Beach – has been one of the most desirable places to live in the UK for over 20 years.
Harry and Sandra Redknapp have owned two houses there while Sky Sports pundit Graeme Souness lives close by.
And Celebrity interior designer Celia Sawyer also lives on Sandbanks.
‘TRULY SPECIAL’
Robert Dunford, of estate agents Tailor Made, which handled the sale said: “About 20 years ago Sandbanks was the fourth most expensive place in the world to buy residential property.
“But demand and prices for waterfront property in Britain has rapidly increased following Covid.
“People have realised they can work from home and don’t need to be tied to an office in London.
“The location brings with it the lifestyle. You have Poole Harbour, award winning sandy beaches and the Jurassic Isle Of Purbeck as your playground.
“The new owner of North Haven Point has bought the home for its location, size and privacy of the plot with its extensive harbour frontage.
“I believe he is looking to embrace green credentials, working with the protected trees, and create something truly special.
“The plot is over 1.4 acres, in the stunning southwest section on Sandbanks Peninsula, it really is the best corner plot I’ve ever had the pleasure of representing locally.”
The plot was originally bought by Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker who was one of the most important botanists of the 19th century, a friend of Charles Darwin and the first director of Kew gardens.