A stunning mansion reminiscent of Versailles is currently available for sale in Dubai, with a staggering price tag of 750 million dirhams (₹1,675 cr). This makes it the most expensive house on the market in a city where luxury properties are highly sought after.
Located in the desirable Emirates Hills neighborhood, the mansion spans an impressive 60,000 square feet of indoor space, although it features only five bedrooms. The primary bedroom alone measures 4,000 square feet, surpassing the size of many entire homes.
The ground floor of the mansion is dedicated to dining and entertaining areas, providing ample space for hosting guests. The property boasts numerous amenities, including a 15-car garage, indoor and outdoor pools, two domes, a 70,000-liter (15,400-gallon) coral reef aquarium, a power substation, and panic rooms. Situated within a gated community overlooking a golf course, the mansion sits on a sprawling 70,000-square-foot lot.
Dubbed the "Marble Palace" by selling agents, the property was constructed using an estimated 80 million to 100 million dirhams worth of Italian stone.
The meticulous construction process took nearly 12 years and was completed in 2018. Notable tasks included the application of 700,000 sheets of gold leaf by 70 skilled workers over a period of more than nine months.
Currently, the mansion is adorned with approximately 400 pieces from the owner's personal art collection, primarily consisting of statues and paintings from the 19th and 20th centuries. The owner is open to negotiations regarding the inclusion of these artworks and furnishings in the purchase.
While the owner, a local property developer, has chosen to remain anonymous, Luxhabitat Sotheby's broker Kunal Singh acknowledges that the mansion's opulent design may not appeal to everyone's taste. He is aware that potential buyers will either love it or hate it.
The Dubai property market has been experiencing a remarkable surge since late 2020, a trend that has outlasted other global property booms during the Covid-19 pandemic. This rally is partly a correction following a six-year market decline.
Dubai's effective handling of the pandemic allowed the city to reopen swiftly, attracting individuals who relocated from places such as Singapore or Hong Kong.
The city became an attractive destination for the wealthy to invest their money amid global economic uncertainties. Additionally, an influx of Russians after Russia's incursion into Ukraine contributed to sustaining the real estate boom.
Recent mega-deals in the Dubai property market include the sale of an empty beachfront plot for 125 million dirhams and the purchase of a penthouse along the Persian Gulf for 420 million dirhams. However, the price per square foot for the Marble Palace, at 12,500 dirhams, is more than double the average price fetched by other properties in Emirates Hills.
The previous record for the most expensive home sale in the neighborhood was 210 million dirhams, at 5,614 dirhams per square foot, in August 2022, according to Dubai property records.
There is only one other listing in the city that rivals this mansion's price—the planned penthouse in a project called Bugatti by Binghatti, which is also being offered for 750 million dirhams but has yet to be constructed. Generally, move-in ready properties command higher prices than those still under construction.
The Bugatti penthouse, or "sky mansion," as it is referred to by the developer, will come equipped with a car elevator and is expected to hit the market in approximately three years.
Kunal Singh estimates that there are only five to ten potential buyers worldwide who possess both the wealth and an affinity for the mansion's unique aesthetic.
According to Singh, only two individuals have visited the mansion in the past three weeks. One of them is an Uzbek man who is currently figuring out how to move his finances. The second visitor is an Indian client who already owns three properties in Emirates Hills. However, his wife is undecided and leaning towards a more contemporary option, as Singh explains.
The Marble Palace is a property that attracts buyers who want to showcase their wealth and entertain elite individuals, leaders, and politicians.
Kerry Michael, the marketing director for Luxhabitat Sotheby's, emphasizes that such grand events would be challenging to host in Palm Jumeirah without drawing excessive attention from the media. However, in Emirates Hills, the palace offers the privacy and exclusivity needed to invite prominent figures like the Obamas and sheikhs for entertaining purposes.
Singh justifies the property's high price partly due to the significant value of time and materials invested in its construction. Situated just minutes away from Palm Jumeirah and a 25-minute drive from the Dubai International Financial Center business district, the mansion benefits from a prime location.
Emirates Hills, often referred to as Dubai's Beverly Hills, is a gated community with a central golf course. The Marble Palace boasts one of the largest lot sizes in the community, and the adjacent plot of approximately 6,000 square feet is available for purchase or lease, potentially for a tennis or padel ball court.
The primary suite of the mansion includes separate his-and-her bathrooms. The second-largest bedroom suite spans 2,500 square feet, while the guest rooms are each around 1,000 square feet in size. One of the guest rooms is currently configured as a wine storage area. Additionally, there are 12 staff rooms with space for up to 25 staff members and two bank vaults.
The owner of the Marble Palace built the home for himself following a divorce and currently resides there alone.
