Bel-Air mansion listed at ten times New Zealand’s priciest home as OECD luxury market sets new benchmarks
The most expensive home currently listed for sale in any OECD country is a mega-mansion at 11201 Chalon Road in Bel-Air, California, carrying a price tag of NZ$668m (US$400m)—more than ten times the value of New Zealand’s highest-priced listing, according to OneRoof’s examination of property markets across the OECD. The gap illustrates how modest New Zealand’s residential records appear on the global stage, with the country’s priciest current listing, a six-bedroom property at 15 Cremorne Street in Herne Bay, tipped to fetch more than $60m yet ranking only 18th in the OECD list.
OneRoof analyzed listing prices and reported sales across OECD member nations to identify the most expensive homes on the market and the biggest residential transactions of 2025 and 2026. The research found that New Zealand’s house price record, set when Andersons Cove in Northland sold for $56m, is dwarfed by the top OECD sale price of NZ$283.9m. At the time of writing, New Zealand placed 19th among OECD countries for top asking prices, trailing Germany but leading Hungary—a ranking that can fluctuate considerably depending on whether a single trophy property stays listed.
Türkiye and Mexico outprice wealthier nations despite lower GDP per capita
Two anomalies stand out in the rankings: Türkiye and Mexico both had homes listed for more than New Zealand’s most expensive property despite substantially lower GDP per capita. In 2025, New Zealand’s GDP per capita stood at roughly $88,000, versus $33,000 in Türkiye and $24,600 in Mexico, but homes in both nations were listed above the $60m Cremorne Street property. The disparity highlights how foreign buyers play a major role at the top end of many OECD property markets, with New Zealand’s Active Investor Plus “golden visa” scheme allowing wealthy foreign nationals to secure residency by investing between $5m and $10m in the local economy.
Cartel ruins and billionaire castles enter the market alongside traditional estates
Among the OECD’s highest-priced listings were five genuine castles or châteaux in Switzerland, France, Sweden, Luxembourg and Slovakia, with Switzerland’s Château El Masr in Cologny commanding the highest castle price at NZ$114.4m (CHF55m). The 1883-built property was commissioned by Scottish entrepreneur Charles Flood after he amassed a fortune in Egypt. In the United Kingdom, a duplex penthouse at One Hyde Park in Knightsbridge, London, created by Nicky Candy, was listed for NZ$392m (£175m), while Australia’s priciest home, a waterfront estate at 2A Bayview Hill Road in Rose Bay, Sydney, was asking NZ$187.2m (A$150m).
Zuckerberg and Chan set Irish record with castle purchase as Berlusconi estate attracts Qatari offer
Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan appeared twice in the research, reportedly paying NZ$99.45m (€51,171,155) for Strancally Castle in Co Waterford, Ireland, in August 2026—setting a new benchmark for a single residential property sale in Ireland that year. The Gothic Revival castle sits on 178ha and dates to about 1830. They were also connected to the costliest US residential transaction of the timeframe: acquiring 7 Indian Creek Island Road in Indian Creek, Florida for NZ$283.9m (US$170m), a 2787sqm waterfront mansion featuring nine bedrooms, a gym, a hair salon and a 5678-litre fish tank.
Questions readers ask about OECD luxury property rankings
Why does New Zealand rank so low when its GDP per capita is high? OneRoof’s data shows New Zealand ranked 19th in the OECD for highest asking prices at the time of writing, but the ranking can swing dramatically on a single trophy property. While most countries ahead of New Zealand are wealthier, the position reflects the absence of ultra-luxury listings comparable to the Bel-Air mansion or One Hyde Park penthouse.
Are the asking prices the same as actual sale prices? No. OneRoof cautioned that listed asking prices do not necessarily equal final sale prices and could have been higher than what was actually paid. Many ultra-luxury homes also change hands privately without appearing on public databases, and some are marketed without asking prices.
What is the cheapest trophy home in the OECD list? Pädaste Mõis in Pädaste, Estonia, was the least expensive property in OneRoof’s collection of top-priced OECD listings, available for NZ$8.58m.
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