America's most expensive apartment

The most expensive apartment in the United States is on top of CitySpire in New York.
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An octagonal penthouse that crowns one of Manhattan's tallest skyscrapers has gone on sale for US$100 million (S$124.6 million), making it America's most expensive apartment.

Spread across three floors on the top of CitySpire, New York's highest mixed-use building, the property boasts six bedrooms, a wine closet with space for 1,000 bottles and a marble foyer.

The 8,000-square-feet flat is surrounded by another 3,000 square feet of outside terrace, allowing the occupants to circle their home while taking in panoramic views of the city.

The penthouse, obviously available only to the fabulously wealthy, even comes with a celebrity broker: Actor Robert de Niro's son, Raphael, has been tasked with making the sale.

It is currently owned by Mr Steven Klar, a property developer who bought it in 1993 for US$4.5 million, before spending the same sum again on furnishing it with chandeliers, columns and antique furniture, according to The New York Times.

Among the decorations is his collection of Napoleonic-era art and hundreds of lead soldiers that he fondly collects.

"Art is what people are willing to pay for, and an apartment like this is like a piece of art," Mr Klar said.

Ms Ashley Murphy, director of public relations at Prudential Douglas Elliman, which listed the apartment, said: "If someone paid US$100 million for this apartment it would be record-breaking."

The current record sale price for a Manhattan apartment is about US$90 million, paid by an unidentified buyer in May for a penthouse in a luxury residential building just south of Central Park.

But like all New York real estate, the CitySpire penthouse is not without its downsides. The slats on the building's dome whistled ferociously as air passed through them, forcing designers to come up with a new design that caused less noise.

Clouds can also get in the way, spoiling the view from the 76th floor. When Pope John Paul held an event in Central Park in 1995, fog kept Mr Klar and his wife from being able to see the proceedings