The Beijing government has halted sales of the most expensive luxury apartment complex in the Chinese capital and launched an investigation into the developer for possible “profiteering”.

The high-end penthouse in Beijing’s Haidian district had an asking price of more than 300 million yuan (US$46.2 million), or 300,000 yuan (US$46,300).

Beijing’s housing authorities on 3 June suspended the sale of the unit, along with 22 other units in the Diaoyutai No 7 Complex.

A penthouse flat in Monaco has been sold for €240M (US$304) in one of the most expensive residential property sales to date.

La Belle Epoque, a property occupied by Christian and his brother Nick Candy, has been bought by an unnamed Middle Eastern investor.

Each suite in the penthouse, the top two floors of a block of flats, has its own cinema, kitchen, dressing room and two bathrooms, and it has a spa, library and gardens.

A luxury penthouse in London has sold for a record-breaking £140 million ($220 million), as the market for “trophy homes” bucks the wider property slump.

The two-floor apartment at the One Hyde Park development in Knightsbridge features bullet-proof windows, an air purifying system and a panic room.

The new owners will have access to 24-hour room service from the neighbouring Mandarin Oriental hotel, and protection from SAS-trained security guards.

Hong Kong officials said Wednesday they will look into the controversial sale of a luxury flat that fell through months after its developer said it had snatched world-record price.

Property giant Henderson Land Development revealed on Tuesday that sales of as many as 20 out of the 24 units at “39 Conduit Road” had been cancelled.

The scrapped deals included what was supposed to be the world’s most expensive apartment, a 6,158-square-foot duplex sold for $56.6 million in October.

A couple of weeks ago we wrote about penthouses located in Hong Kong and Dubai, breaking property records by selling for more than $30 million.

But no worries, our wealthy readers who missed those opportunities, will be glad to see that a new record has been set with the listing of a two-story 4,400-square-foot luxury penthouse condo for $10 million at the Astoria on Tenth tower, being constructed in Calgary (Canada).

Calgary is now a “have” city compared to Toronto and Vancouver. The city is the economic hub of Canada right now and real estate values have been going up.

A luxury flat in Hong Kong has sold for 225 million Hong Kong dollars (28.8 million US), the most expensive apartment per square foot ever sold in Asia ($41,000 HKD per square foot), a report in the Sing Tao Daily said.

The 80th floor penthouse has a private swimming pool and spectacular view of Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbour. The 5,497-square-foot (511-square-metre) flat, with its own roof-top terrace, is located in a new complex called The Arch, in Hong Kong’s Kowloon area.

The new tower is attracting multinational firms away from the central business district, where rocketing property prices have scared away even the world’s richest firms – Source : AFP.