Real Estate

Penthouse sells for record-breaking $136M in Dubai — and it isn’t even built

This home doesn’t even exist, yet it’s already set a prominent sales record in one of the world’s most well-heeled cities. 

In Dubai, a profoundly opulent domicile has just sold for slightly more than $136 million, the most expensive price ever paid for a penthouse there, according to CNN.

(The now-smashed former record was set earlier this year, when a floor-through unit at the Marsa Al Arab Hotel traded hands for approximately $114 million.)

What’s more, this new record-holder isn’t even built. The freshly crowned priciest pad is currently just a plan, but oh what a plan it is: Once complete, the abode is set to sprawl out over 22,000 square feet atop the soon-to-be-built, nearly 1,000-foot-tall Como Residences. 

Whoever is behind the eye-wateringly expensive transaction (they are “from Eastern Europe”) can move into their new residence in three or so years, as Dubai agency Provident Estate says it should be built by late 2027, CNN added.

The luxe apartment building is slated to be located on the Palm Jumeirah, a posh archipelago of man-made islands forming the shape of a palm tree that’s known for its glam properties.

A rendering of the completed Como Residences. Nakheel Properties and Provident Estate
An aerial view of Dubai’s Palm Jumeirah island. Getty Images/iStockphoto
A rendering of the interior of the completed Como Residences. Nakheel Properties and Provident Estate

In the case of the penthouse, highlights of its lavish amenities include not just its own pool, but access to the 76-unit building’s infinity pool and lap pool as well. 

And of course, being so high up, it’ll serve as quite the observation deck. 

“[The] view from this specific penthouse will be unmatched,” Dubai-based agent Chris Bowell commented to CNN, noting it’s an important feature to high-end buyers: “The view is of massive importance.”

Despite Dubai’s reputation for resplendent real estate, the Como Residences’ penthouse actually represents something of a rarity in the market, Bowell added.

“It’s a very exclusive property, it’s very much a trophy asset,” he explained. “There aren’t any real large-scale penthouses like that, unless you go for something that is off plan, meaning under construction. And people are prepared to wait that long for the best ones.”