City by City: America’s Most Expensive Homes

It’s always entertaining to see how home prices vary from place to place, and to see what homes command the highest prices. Usually, the priciest properties have names. They also tend to have swimming pools on landscaped grounds, a gourmet kitchen and very often a wine cellar. But what else do they have that commands such prices? It’s not always obvious. Two of the following homes are being sold unfinished, and one of those two is charging an extra $50,000 for parking. A handful of these properties don’t even have enough square footage to qualify as mansions.

What follows are the priciest listings currently posted on Realtor.com in each of the 10 most-populous cities in the U.S. This list is an indicator of the top end of real estate offerings in these cities. However, it should not be considered comprehensive as it does not include pocket listings, which may appear on each property’s exclusive broker website but are not distributed to other sites through the multi-listing system (MLS).

Which of the following 10 cities has the most expensive home? In which city is the most expensive listing a mere $4.5 million? Ranked in order from the least expensive to the most expensive mansion, here are the priciest homes in the 10 biggest cities in the U.S.

By Colleen Kane
Posted 27 June 2012

Price: $4.5 million
Bedrooms: 5
Bathrooms: 8
Square Footage: 10,500

This equestrian ranch looks like a Mediterranean stone-and-stucco number that at first glance could have been standing on this sloping 5-acre lot for decades. But the house was built in 2008, so it’s equipped with features often demanded from modern real estate buyers, like a workout room, granite floors, wine cellar and double pane windows for energy efficiency.

Price: $5.5 million
Bedrooms: 3
Bathrooms: 3
Square Footage: 3,000

From the outside, this 20-year-old house with its terra cotta roof looks like many other homes in San Antonio, and it isn’t even close to being a mansion.  Its chart-topping price makes more sense when considering the property size, which is a hair under 55 acres. It has stables and other equestrian features, an outdoor pool with slide, and a lovely guest cottage with inviting porch. The home’s interior is charming, with a freestanding fireplace, and a beautiful sun room with a spiral staircase leading up to a tiled terrace.

Price: $11.9 million
Bedrooms: 9
Bathrooms: 13
Square Footage: 21,012

This Camelback Mountain estate in the Phoenix-Scottsdale area offers mountain and city views. No wonder, because it’s on Wonderview Road, next door to The Phoenician luxury resort. But at 21,000 square feet — plus a massive glimmering chandelier in its grand entry hall and a dramatic column-flanked front entry — this house could be a resort itself. The mansion has three fireplaces, including one in the master bedroom; many terraces; and, out on the 1-acre grounds: a heated swimming pool, hot tub and eight-car garage.

Price: $13.478 million
Bedrooms: 8
Bathrooms: 9
Square Footage: 5,900

This building is one of the list’s non-mansions, but it’s all about location and views. It overlooks Mission Beach and the Pacific beyond; a few blocks across a sandy strip in the other direction is Mission Bay. This contemporary three-story beach house has a luxury apartment on each level. Some features include expansive ocean-view terraces and a roof deck, a breakfast bar at the floor-to-ceiling windows facing the ocean, and a fireplace in the 400-square-foot master bedroom, which has a soaking tub with — you guessed it — ocean views.

Price: $13.95 million
Bedrooms: 5
Bathrooms: 8
Square Footage: 14,423

This French Chateau-style mansion was built in 1994 on 1.55 acres backing up to the River Oaks Country Club Golf Course. It features a grand staircase, four fireplaces, a formal living room, mahogany library, wine cellar and gourmet kitchen. The master suite boasts an enormous bath and dressing area. Outside is a dining terrace, landscaping with hedges, statues and water fountain, and a pool and spa. 

Price: $15 million
Bedrooms: N/A
Bathrooms: N/A
Square Footage: 9,153

This building is located right on Rittenhouse Square, named for astronomer-clockmaker David Rittenhouse. The structure most recently served as a club called The Mansion at Rittenhouse Square, and this historic mansion is currently three floors of raw space.

It features a 905-square-foot balcony overlooking the square and a 582-square-foot terrace overlooking its private courtyard. There’s a private entrance available through the parking garage, and while a parking spot is available, it will run the buyer an extra 50 grand. The buyer of this property gets such amenities as a 24-hour doorman and concierge, chauffeured Mercedes, valet parking, indoor pool, fitness center and yoga room, as well as room service by Serafina.

Price: $29.5 million          
Bedrooms: 5
Bathrooms: 11
Square Footage: 10,511

The neoclassical Georgian mansion Mount Vernon overlooking White Rock Lake was built in 1930 and first occupied by the oil magnate H.L. Hunt and his family. Luxury features of this 10-acre estate include a two-story guesthouse, a pool house, a four-lane bowling center, a 16-car collector’s garage, lighted tennis courts, swimming pool (one of Dallas’ first residential pools), putting greens and a gazebo. The house has nine marble fireplaces; original wood paneling, doors and wide plank floors' a “Spirit of America” mural like the one in the White House, a steam room, and a private deck offering sunset views.

Price: $32 million
Bedrooms: 5
Bathrooms: 9
Square Footage: 14,260

The 89^th floor penthouse of Chicago’s Trump Tower is billed as the highest residence in the Western hemisphere. It offers panoramic views of the city and Lake Michigan through its floor-to-16-foot ceiling windows. The new owner can build the bare-bones residence to their specifications, but it already includes a theater room, wet bar and exercise room. As part of the Trump Tower condo-hotel, the penthouse owner has access to its amenities, including gym; the spa (which offers gemstone-infused oil massages); indoor pool; valet; and the restaurant Sixteen on the 16^th floor, which offers 24-hour room service.

Price: $90 million
Bedrooms: N/A
Bathrooms: N/A
Square Footage: 19,950

The French Gothic Woolworth Mansion was completed in 1916.This seven-story residence is actually the middle one in a row of three limestone mansions on East 80^th Street off Fifth Avenue. They were built for retail magnate Frank Woolworth’s daughters as he was building the golden-topped Woolworth Building skyscraper downtown. It features a grand entry hall and foyer and a grand master staircase. The upper floors have ceilings more than 14 feet high and floor-to-ceiling windows. The dining room can seat more than 50 and ends in a rear solarium.

Price: $125 million
Bedrooms: 12
Bathrooms: 15
Square Footage: 35,046

This romantic French style mansion in a Bel Air gated community has classic looks, but was built just 10 years ago for then-wedded couple David and Suzanne Saperstein. It was inspired in part by Chateau de Vaux-le-Vicompte in France. The two have since divorced, and in the process Suzanne Saperstein picked up this estate, which she’s been trying to sell since last year. The interiors of the Fleur De Lys mansion feature soaring coffered ceilings, and a spacious castle-like dining room with barrel vault ceilings. The 4-acre estate features a guest house, manicured gardens and a huge swimming pool flanked by hedge walls for privacy.