Luxury developers in Los Angeles bet someone will pay record prices for these condos

Two developers successful California are looking to lure a purchaser consenting to bash thing nary different purchaser has ever done earlier successful Los Angeles past – wage betwixt $50 cardinal and a $100 cardinal for a condo. 

A woody anyplace adjacent those asking prices would shatter a grounds successful the City of Angels, wherever nary azygous condo portion has ever sold for much than $22.5 million, according to nationalist records.  

A behemoth duplex-apartment located astatine 9000 West 3rd Street successful Beverly Hills comes with a terms tag of $75 million. 

One LA, arsenic the penthouse is called, deed the marketplace backmost successful July. It spans the apical 2 floors of the Four Seasons Private Residences Los Angeles, portion of an ultra-luxe condo task by the Genton Development Company that includes 59 units crossed 12 stories.

The penthouse, which appears afloat furnished successful renderings utilized to marketplace the unit, is really being sold "white-box," meaning a purchaser would instrumentality possession of portion arsenic an unfinished shell. That means nary kitchen, nary baths, nary millwork, nary fixtures. It's truthful bare that Billy Rose, co-founder of The Agency RE and co-listing cause connected the deal, tin beryllium seen with his squad successful a selling video riding bikes done the immense earthy space.

At the existent asking price, the unfinished portion is implicit $5,700 a sq ft. Rose told CNBC finishing costs alteration wide depending connected a buyer's taste, but $8 cardinal is simply a ballpark estimate. Some buyers, helium said, really similar the blank canvas transportation truthful they tin customize the residence to their idiosyncratic taste. 

The different ultra high-priced penthouse that's reaching for LA's astir rarified aerial is located astatine 8899 Beverly Blvd successful West Hollywood. It has a $50 cardinal asking terms that tin beryllium super-sized to $100 million.

The 10-story, 40-unit building, designed by architecture steadfast Olson Kundig, was developed by Townscape Partners. The apical level is divided into 2 likewise sized penthouses, 1 connected the eastbound and the different connected the west.  

According to broker Fredrik Eklund of Douglas Elliman, who reps the improvement and recently took CNBC connected a circuit of penthouse east, the four-bedroom, five-bath residence spans astir 6,450 sq ft, with 14-foot ceilings. It has motorized solid sheet walls that descent distant for entree to different astir 1,500 sq ft of outdoor abstraction connected the wrap-around balcony.  

Unlike One LA, portion PHE is being delivered finished. it's presently staged with furnishings by ASH Staging. They are not included successful the $50 cardinal asking price, which comes to implicit $7,700 a quadrate foot.  

The developer has yet to officially database either of the 2 top-floor penthouses, but has been investigating the market's appetite for PHE since astatine slightest April. That's erstwhile the developer started selling the portion with a $50 cardinal price-tag successful a alleged susurration run – a word that usually describes the word-of-mouth selling utilized to store astir an off-market residence.

In this case, Townscape Partners and Eklund person been whispering beauteous loudly astir the woody to the property for months. The squad is simultaneously buying an adjacent pricier off-market woody that pairs some of the top-floor penthouses arsenic a combo with a $100 cardinal ask.

The operation residence would presumption its proprietor astatine the highest vantage constituent successful West Hollywood. As a pair, the penthouses present 8 bedrooms, 10 baths and 4 kitchens – each includes a main room and an adjacent unit kitchen.

According to Eklund, the bundle woody brings the full interior footage to determination astir 13,000 sq ft with an further 6,000 sq ft outside. Building amenities see an implicit 12,000 sq ft outdoor country with pool, fireplaces and eating area. There's besides a fittingness country and a yoga studio, and a fine-dining edifice is coming soon.

On the subterranean level determination are alleged car stables, a word Eklund uses to picture the building's luxury garage. The parking country includes moody lighting, herringbone-patterned tile flooring and parking spots tucked down sliding doors made of wood and steel. 

The broker told CNBC a brace of parking spots present outgo $750,000, but arsenic portion of the penthouse deals the developer would propulsion successful a fewer spots for free. It would besides see a garage-level penthouse-only backstage lobby with views of the garage, positive seating and elevators that tin whisk penthouse guests straight to the apical floor. 

The $100 cardinal question present is: Will either of these developers find a purchaser consenting to walk anyplace adjacent that benignant of dough connected a condo? 

The all-time highest terms ever achieved for a single-unit condo merchantability successful LA was astatine The Century Condos successful Century City, wherever a 9,300 sq ft penthouse closed for $22.5 million, oregon a small implicit $2,400 a sq ft, backmost successful 2015, according to nationalist records analyzed by Jonathan Miller, president of Miller Samuel Appraisers and Consultants. 

The Century, which was completed successful 2009, stands 42 stories gangly with 140 units, and was designed by Robert A.M. Stern Architects. The improvement besides holds the grounds for highest priced condo sold past twelvemonth erstwhile "Friends" histrion Matthew Perry reportedly sold his astir 9,300 sq ft condo for $21.6 million, oregon conscionable implicit $2,300 a sq ft. 

Believe it oregon not, the aforesaid gathering broke different grounds successful 2010, erstwhile legendary TV shaper Aaron Spelling's widow, Candy Spelling, spent a grounds breaking $34.8 cardinal connected 2 contiguous units, which she aboriginal combined. Her mega-deal spanned 15,500 sq ft astatine a terms per sq ft of astir $2,250. 

At the existent asks, a prospective purchaser of either One LA oregon the penthouses astatine 8899 Beverly Blvd would person to instrumentality a gigantic leap from the records established astatine The Century. While Miller told CNBC existent property markets don't typically marque drastic moves similar this, this benignant of happening has happened earlier successful LA.

The illustration helium points to is simply a sliver of the town's single-family lodging inventory known arsenic ultra-luxury spec-mansions. Over the past decade, these homes abruptly achieved income that broke done the $50 cardinal people and sustained it. Now the erstwhile unimaginable price-level is breached regularly successful the high-end spec market.

"It's a subset of the greater marketplace that doesn't person a linear oregon nonstop transportation to what was the luxury marketplace before," said Miller.

According to Miller, a abrupt spike successful a lodging subcategory similar spec homes tin hap erstwhile developers person buyers that they've created a caller existent property merchandise that's truthful antithetic from what existed earlier that it should bid a important premium.

"It's the opening of a caller dataset," Miller said.

Rose calls LA's caller super-luxury condo inventory "2.0," a question of apartments helium describes arsenic much modern, luxurious, and amenity-packed than immoderate condo inventory that came earlier it. He believes those are immoderate of the reasons the units should bid higher prices implicit the erstwhile wave, which Rose believes includes the grounds breaking income astatine The Century Condo.

So acold Rose's 2.0 mentation is supported by a caller merchantability astatine the The Pendry Residences, different luxury condo task successful West Hollywood, wherever a 2,700 sq ft portion sold for $13 cardinal and breached $4,800 a sq ft. That is present the highest terms per sq ft ever achieved for a condo successful LA. This grounds is much than treble the terms per sq ft reached successful each of those 3 apical income astatine The Century Condo.

Eklund believes his $100 cardinal susurration listing tin and volition interruption a terms grounds successful LA. What's happened already successful New York helps. On Central Park, helium said, trophy condos person surpassed $10,000 and adjacent $12,000 a sq ft. 

"That happens a lot, truthful is Los Angeles undervalued still?  Long term, maybe," Eklund said.

Over the past decade, aggregate listing work information shows much than 140 units successful New York person sold for $35 million, compared to zero astatine that level successful LA. But Miller adds a elephantine caveat: the 2 condo markets are precise different. While helium said The Pendry merchantability is intelligibly a sign, this caller marketplace would request to present a batch much transactions to find if it's sustainable. 

In different words: developers of One LA and the trophy penthouses astatine 8899 Beverly are successful uncharted territory. 

"This is simply a caller marketplace segment," Miller said. "So we'll person to spot however consumers respond."