A home for your $125 million in cash

While the speculation continues here over whether property prices have hit bottom or if there’s further to fall, there are no such problems Stateside. New York property watchers are agog at the news that the Pierre penthouse has come on the market with a price tag of $125 million (€96 million), making it the most expensive home ever listed for sale in New York.

The 12,000 sq ft penthouse sits above the Pierre hotel, and get this, the buyer will need to pony up with cash, because the Pierre doesn’t allow financing. Part of the estate of the late financier, Martin Zweig, the “triplex” doesn’t do understatement. Features include a grand black-marble staircase, arched cathedral windows that replicate a Versailles chapel, and fireplaces with mantels designed in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. The monthly maintenance cost alone is $47,000.

The listing somewhat steals the thunder of the hedge-fund tycoon Steve Cohen; it was reported only days previously that he was about to list his duplex apartment in the Bloomberg Tower for a record $115 million. Brings “Keeping up with the Joneses” to a whole new level.