World's 10 most expensive residential areas

When it comes to ultra premium houses, it’s not just the location that determines the real estate prices but also the people staying next to you.

Take for example, London’s Kensington Palace Gardens that is home to one of India’s richest man Lakshmi Mittal. The property prices in the area shot up since the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (and new Prince George) moved there.

One square metre in Kensington Palace Gardens now costs Rs 67 lakh.

Let’s look at the most expensive localities in the world and the people who stay there.

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Avenue Montaigne

City: Paris

Country: France

Rank: 10

Average price per square metre: $26,000 (apprx Rs 16 lakh)

Price change year on year: -3 per cent

Neighbours: Canadian Embassy, Marlene Dietrich (before her death in 1992)

Avenue Montaigne is an exclusive residential neighbourhood for France’s wealthy and famous.

Located in the 8th arrondissement in the Champs Elysees quarter, this 350-year-old avenue is steeped in cultural history.

The street is also home to upscale hotelPlaza Athenee.

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Fifth Avenue

City: New York

Country: US

Rank: 9

Average price per square metre: $ 28,000 (apprx Rs 17.6 lakh)

Price change year on year: +5.4 per cent

Neighbours: Bill Murray, Tom Brokaw

New York’s rich and famous have flocked to Fifth Avenue since the 1900s for its exclusive cachet and central location.

The most-expensive properties are those sold along the stretch between 59th and 96th, where the street fronts leafy Central Park.

The street is home to the most iconic landmark buildings and shopping centres in the US, including the EmpireStateBuilding, the RockefellerCenter and Saks.

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Ostozhenka

City: Moscow

Country: Russia

Rank: 8

Average price per square metre: $29,000 (apprx Rs 18 lakh)

Price change year on year: +3.6 per cent

Neighbours: Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov

Ostozhenka in downtown Moscow is one of the oldest streets in Russia and its most expensive.

Dotted with Art Nouveau buildings and famous landmarks, including The Kremlin, the PushkinMuseum and the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, this street is Muscovite heritage at its finest.

The most-expensive apartment ever sold on Ostozhenka Street was a five-level property of 1,240 square metres located in Crystal House for $48 million.

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Romazzino Hill

Place: Sardinia

Country: Italy

Rank: 7

Average price per square metre: $32,900 (apprx Rs 20.6 lakh)

Price change year on year: stable

Neighbours: Saudi Arabian politician Ahmed Zaki Yamani, Ural steel tycoon Alexei Mordashov, and Qatar royal family members

The Aga Khan turned the Costa Smerelda, Sardinia, into his holiday retreat in the 1960s; ever since then it has been known as the quintessential billionaire’s holiday playground.

On the region’s most-sought-after road, the winding Romazzino Hill, expect to pay an average price of $40,591 per square metre.

Some of the location’s most-exclusive hotels include the Cala di Volpe and the Romazzino, both part of The Luxury Collection.

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Chemin de Ruth

City: Geneva

Country: Switzerland

Rank: 6

Average price per square metre: $37,000 (apprx Rs 23 lakh)

Price change year on year: -5 per cent

Neighbours: France’s Peugeot family, former French tennis player Henri Leconte and former French alpine-skier Jean-Claude Killy

Located in the heart of Switzerland’s Cologny, close to the shores of Lake Geneva, the prestigious Chemin de Ruth is Switzerland’s most-expensive street.

The mansions on this stone-walled street come with more land than most other streets of Cologny, many with beautiful landscaped gardens and large swimming pools.

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Paterson Hill

Country: Singapore

Rank: 5

Average price per square metre: $42,500 (apprx Rs 26.7 lakh)

Price change year on year: +6.5 per cent

Neighbours: Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin and former Miss Singapore beauty queen Rachel Kum

Paterson Hill is widely considered the city-state’s ‘Billionaire’s Row’. Prices here have jumped in the last year, largely down to currency fluctuations.

Paterson Hill is located in the prestigious district 09, a tranquil residential area within close proximity to the well-known Orchard Road Shopping Belt with its collection of designer boutiques and Michelin-starred restaurants.

The most-expensive condominium on this road is The Marq, which features one highlight condo with interiors designed by Hermes, and a private lap pool cantilevered outside each apartment.

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Boulevard du General de Gaulle

Location: Cap Ferrat

Country: France

Rank: 4

Average price per square metre: $79,000 (apprx Rs 49.6 lakh)

Price change year on year: -5 per cent

Neighbours: Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie; David Niven and Paul Allen reportedly own holiday homes, as did Charlie Chaplin

The highly exclusive peninsula of Cap Ferrat may be the most-sought-after piece of land along the Mediterranean Cote d’Azur, resulting in it being the world’s priciest non-urban location.

Situated about 15km from Monaco, the Cap, as it is affectionately known, has long been a Mecca for the rich and famous.

It is also home to luxury hotels, including the famous Grand-Hotel du Cap-Ferrat with its Michelin-starred restaurant, Le Cap.

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Avenue Princesse Grace

Country: Monaco

Rank: 3

Average price per square metre: $86,000 (apprx Rs 54 lakh)

Price change year on year: +5 per cent

Neighbours: Andrea Bocelli, Roger Moore, Lewis Hamilton, and Helena Christensen

The most-exclusive street in this tiny principality is iconic Avenue Princesse Grace, which winds along the sea front.

Due to finite space, the majority of developments on this street are now rental-only so a premium is often paid for recent builds such as the Mirabeau and number 21 Avenue Princesse Grace.

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Kensington Palace Gardens

City: London

Country: UK

Rank: 2

Average price per square metre: $107,000 (apprx Rs 67 lakh)

Price change year on year: +2 per cent

Neighbours: The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (and new Prince George), Lakshmi Mittal, and Bernie Ecclestone’s daughter Tamara

Widely considered London’s ‘Billionaire’s Row’, leafy KensingtonPalaceGardens is the world’s second-most-expensive street.

Here, properties change hands for as much as 122 million pounds (US$195 million).

No doubt the street’s latest arrivals, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, have helped boost prices.

This private, tree-lined avenue is home to the French, Russian and Japanese embassies among others, and some of the world’s most famous billionaires.

Indian-born steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal owns number 9a and 18-19.

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Pollock’s Path

Location: The Peak

Country: Hong Kong

Rank: 1

Average price per square metre: $120,000 (apprx Rs 75.4 lakh)

Price change year on year: +10% per cent

Neighbours: Stephen Chow, HSBC top brass

With its panoramic views over Hong KongIsland and VictoriaHarbour, the prestigious Pollock’s Path on The Peak is the world’s most-expensive street.

Records were set, not only for this road but for Hong Kong overall, when, in 2011, an apartment sold for HK$800 million ($103 million).