334sf for RM5 Million. Pretty expensive? It’s a ‘modernised’ historical unit.

334sq ft home for RM5 million in London. Read this piece of interesting property news in Propertyguru. The price is said to be the highest ever for such a unit. The unit is a 100-year lease studio flat at 42 Upper Brook Street. A long history was mentioned for the units which was designed way back in 1928-1929. Today, it has been refurbished with new luxurious fitting and fixtures. In one sentence, modernised unit with a historical background. Some other features mentioned in the article included: “a living/entertaining area with wooden floors, ceiling spotlighting and a bespoke cabinet with TV screen and shelving and a separate drinks cabinet for storage and entertaining guests. Behind this is a generous sleeping area large enough to accommodate a double bed and side table with reading light. The flat has a separate fully fitted kitchen and a bathroom suite with large format stone flooring and wall tiles and a spacious walk-in shower.”
The price is thus a whopping RM15,000 / sf.  Buying just 40sf is enough to buy the current place that I am staying including some minor renovations. Haha. Typically, for smaller units, the prices per sf may be higher. Thats why for SOHO the price per sf is normally higher than the usual standard units. I think there is a chance for Penang island, especially within the UNESCO site to test new highs per sf. It would be as expensive as the one in London but tell me, if its 350 sf but it’s sold for RM1 million, don’t you think it would already be on all major newspapers in Malaysia within the next day?
Who can they target for such units? Well, if it is a serviced apartment, the ‘super rich’ and ‘pretty old’ may be the target. As for Malaysia, I think only the expatriate or the international buyers. I am not sure what would I do with the unit if I am super rich, except to tell people that I like to show off? I think if I want to show off, I would be better off building a bungalow from scratch instead of buying that small unit and could not even invite more than a few friends over for a meal. Anyway, that’s just me and the problem is that I am not super rich. That’s why I love these news but would never buy one. If they update who the buyers are, perhaps I will write another article on them. I mean, we should get to know who these people are and the reasons why they buy too.
written on 4 Oct 2014
Next suggested article: Relevance of top 5 future home trends in UK vs Malaysia.